Posted on by thornstocrowns

The purpose of stagnant waters

When we think of stagnant waters, we don’t think of things that are fresh and alive. On the contrary, we think of the dangers of stagnant water bodies and some of us follow the instructions not to be near or in stagnant water bodies. It is for our health anyway, right? According to my Google search, stagnant waters are a breeding ground for insects and bacteria that carry diseases, the water is filled with dead things and water-borne diseases thrive in these waters. What good can come from stagnant waters? In a physical and literal sense, nothing good can come from stagnant waters. For the purpose of this blog, I wanted to use stagnant water as an illustration of our spiritual stagnation. While we know nothing good comes from it in the physical, what good can come from stagnant waters in your spiritual life? If any?! What can God do with your stagnant waters and make them purposeful?

What is stagnant water in the spiritual life?

Similar to actual stagnant waters, there are many dangers of us coming near or in these types of waters. The stagnant water in a spiritual aspect is the death of faith and hope. With the death of faith and hope, there is a high likelihood that sin and doubt breed and start to grow in our lives. In a spiritual sense because of the death of faith and hope there is no longer any movement on our spiritual walk. The waters don’t move, so don’t we. The Bible does instruct us to not get into stagnant water, a place where faith and hope die, but many of us find ourselves there for so many reasons. Here are a few of them; hurt/disappointment, loss, fear, complacency, self-righteousness, and laziness. What was the reason that made you get into stagnant waters? In other words, what killed your faith and hope?

When it starts to STINK

Stagnant waters eventually start to stink. If you have ever walked past a place with stagnant waters, you know exactly what I am talking about. It is quite hard to ignore the awful smell. In many similarities with stagnant waters in our spiritual lives, our stagnant paddles of water begin to stink. We can spend all our lives ignoring the smell of it, and allow people around us to also get affected by the smell of it. If there are people who love you well, they will let you know it stinks and they can all smell it. They may even encourage you to clean up and get rid of the smell. However, it does come down to you deciding if you want to live your life void of faith and hope, and instead allowing sin and doubt to thrive within you. Here is where you may want to think what is the purpose of this stagnant water if nothing good comes from it? All you have is sin and doubt and whatever little faith and hope you had is dead. You are unable to move forward but sit there in misery. I understand where you are because I too have been there where stagnant water seemed like a better place to live my life. I knew what my Bible said about how life without faith and hope feels and looks like, but I had already killed it enough. Death surrounded me, where could I bring back to life faith and hope while I tried to move in unmovable water? Well, this is where the purpose of stagnant water steps in!

The purpose of stagnant water

Stagnant waters save as a reminder to tell us this is not where we used to be. We are reminded that there was a time when our lives were filled with faith and hope. Understandably, some circumstances killed our faith and hope, but surely this is not where you want to remain. If the awful smell of sin and doubt eventually gets to you, you then decide enough is enough! It is time to get back to thriving in living waters. If you have lived long enough in stagnant waters, stepping out will not be easy, in fact, it will be quite scary. But there is good news! You do not have to do this alone! Someone has been waiting for you to get out of there, his name is Jesus Christ. And to ease you into stepping out, he starts with you small, he is not even trying to overwhelm you.

In his word from Matthew 17:20, he says your faith can be as tiny as a mustard seed. Think with me for a second, a mustard seed is extremely tiny and that is what can help you get out of these stagnant waters? You can’t pass up this offer! Activate your faith and allow Jesus to bring you out of these waters you have made your home. After you have activated your faith remember that you can’t take your sin and doubt where there is life, those things can not thrive in living waters. Repent from your sin and doubt and begin to build your faith and hope in Jesus. It will surprise you how much making this decision will greatly impact your life. So do you still think only bad things come from stagnant water now? Well, I hope not, because many of us came out of stagnant water, and Jesus our living water turned things around for us. We are no longer surrounded by dead things, but life and, we can move freely!

Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them

John 7:38 (NIV)

This verse reminds us that there is a way out of our stagnant waters, and it is through believing in Jesus. In other words, it is having faith and hope in Jesus. There is hope that once we taste the living water, no longer shall we thirst for the old stinky waters (Read John 4 v 10-14). Now that is some good news! I urge you to step out from those stagnant waters, there is hope on the other side. It is time for you to take your rightful place! It is time to trade thorns for crowns.

Much love,

Xholiwe

Posted on by thornstocrowns

Studying the word: The crucial need for it in the Christian walk

I was just a few weeks into my walk with the Lord when I realized I did not have my personal Bible. Just like every new Christian, I was eager to get the word in my heart and start on my journey with the Lord. I remember praying and asking the Lord that I wanted to study his word and could use my own personal Bible. It was not before long this wonderful couple came to my workplace and gave me a spanking new study Bible. I still remember the feeling of joy and realizing that God wanted me to start immediately. My own personal Bible, mint, blue, and white, and that irresistible new Bible smell. I thanked this amazing couple for such a perfect gift and an answer to my prayers. I couldn’t wait to get home so I could start using my Bible. I rushed home to check my new study Bible out and in the moment it felt like the words were lifting off the page and they were so tangible, I immediately started on the “read the Bible in a year plan” that was part of my study Bible. This Bible was filled with highlights, you would tell it was a Bible that was constantly being used. I was finding new truths, and I was excited about expanding my knowledge in my new walk.

Unfortunately, I started to get too caught up in my own life issues, work, and school (I was a college student then) so like many of us, my perfect gift, and answered prayer was shelved with the many other books unread for some time. If I was studying the Bible then, I moved from that to a quick read and glance if possible. I was not studying the word anymore, and it was quite evident in the many things I didn’t fully understand. I know we can fall into this because life does get busy and sometimes the Bible is the last thing on our minds. But please hear me out, we need the word in us and can no longer make it the least of our priorities. Studying the word is crucial to understanding why we are walking with God and staying sustained in our walk with him.

reading versus Studying the word

I will try to use some of my college experience to help us see the difference between reading and studying. In some of my structured classes, I would be given reading assignments weekly throughout the semester and those were great supplements to prepare me to know the context of the subject matter. Eventually, there would be a final exam, and this required me to study the material so I could prove that understood the material. So think context equals reading and study equals understanding. It might be hard to differentiate the two because both reading and studying the word of the Lord are good for the Christian walk. Think of the time you read a wonderful Bible story and connected with the characters, great right? it was a nice read and similar to a novel there was no further need for you to dig deep. Then think of the time you read the same Bible story and sought a deeper meaning to it, you may have even cross-checked with other verses and even read a commentary or two. This time you went beyond just knowing the characters and connecting, you were seeking a deeper understanding of the whole story. When you read the Bible, you can get some context, which is great! However, when you study the Bible you are studying to understand in depth the meaning of it all.

Why is STUDYING THE WORD IMPORTANT

What has been the setback for many of us Christians is having the context, but lacking the depth of the meaning. Studying the word helps us expand our knowledge beyond the context. When we move beyond the context and start to look at the word in a more introspective and meditative way, not only do we gain a better understanding of it, but it helps us better understand ourselves. It is a living word after all! (read Hebrews 4:12). I think of the Bible when we study and examine it, it also examines us. When we study the Bible in-depth, we begin to deepen our relationship with God. With deeper studying, God is not just a character in the book we just read and feel connected to, but he becomes more real to us. I was once a Bible illiterate, and that got me into trouble because all I had was context, so it was quite easy for me to believe something else aside from the actual word. Hence studying the word will safeguard you from falsehood the world does a great job at showing us. The depth of your study shields you and guides you through your Christian walk. It all comes down to seeing God in all of it, the redemptive plan for all of us, and our part in this plan.

How can you study the Word?

The word must be studied with much to consider, remember this is not just for context. You are seeking a deeper meaning here not just a feel-good story. You would want to consider the times, the situation, the reasons, the people, the purpose, and eventually the meaning. This will take you some time to pull all this as you study versus when you read, so make the time for it all. Other things you can do are;

  • Be intentional about your study time, you would have to make time in your schedule for devotional time. (don’t shelve your Bible and let it collect dust)
  • Study different subjects or books of the Bible (for example if you want to study faith; read verses related to faith and use those to help you better understand what God means by faith in depth)
  • Study with others – it will surprise you what you may have missed when someone else shares their study with you. You can do this in a Bible study setting or even a Sunday school class.
  • Supplement your study time with commentaries. These should be biblically sound commentaries. Not every commentary you find on Google is biblically sound. Look out for those.
  • Pray! Yes, pray. Ask God to give you a deeper meaning of his word as you study so you can understand it.
  • Don’t keep this word to yourself! if you understand something from your deep study, share it with the world, it will surprise you how many people it can touch.

sHOW YOURSELF APPROVED BY God

After you study and understand, you want to be approved by God. Remember how I mentioned earlier that through studying and examining the word it also examines us? Once there is an introspective of yourself in alignment with the Word, you would want to take what you have studied and apply that to your walk with Christ. So that when God sees you, he sees the practical word in you. From the pages to living it out in your walk daily, to seeking more of his word for your continued spiritual growth.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

It is time for you to take your rightful place, it is time to trade thorns for crowns!

Much love,

Xholiwe

Posted on by thornstocrowns

The failures of the flesh and heart: Strengthened by God

If I am not reading the Bible, you will catch me watching personal testimonies, I love to hear real-life testimonies and I could go on for hours just listening to how God restored people back to him. Many of these testimonies deal with the failures flesh and the heart. One thing in common for most of those who share is that they were at their end of giving up and they looked to God for strength. God gave them the strength to carry when the failures of their flesh and heart failed them. The verse Psalms 73:26 says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” I thought of expanding on this just because we too have been in a place where the failures of of flesh and hearts could only be restored by the strength of the Lord.

When the flesh fails

In a perfect world, the flesh would not fail, but because we live in an imperfect world, many of us experience the failures of our flesh. It is not own deteriorating health, it is the health of those we love that causes us to lose strength. The bad report from the doctor has typically left many feeling hopeless and unable to cope with the news that our flesh has failed us. In the moment we question why would this happen to us, none of us immediately think to have hope when we analyze the report. The failures of our flesh can induce fear in us as we are faced with the reality that we may lose our own strength. If we’re honest our mind immediately thinks of the worst of the situation. But do you know that even in the worst of the situation there you can draw strength? Not our own strength because that will fail us. When the flesh fails our natural strength can not be sustained. It is quite hard to sustain your own strength when your body is weak, so why not look to God for strength? (read 1 Chronicles 16:11).

When the heart fails

Unfortunately, yes, the heart does fail us as well. I know if we could, we would figure out a way on how the heart can stay intact. But as long as we live here on earth, our hearts will fail us in many ways. The heart fails when we experience all kinds of trials and tribulations here on earth and this should not catch us by surprise as Christians. Just because we are Christian doesn’t mean that we are exempt from the troubles of the world. (read Psalms 34:19). When the heart fails there is that impulse in us to figure out how we can quickly fix it and we tend to do that in our own ability and strength. In most cases, our own ability and strength have led us to feel fearful, despair, and inadequate. We are then convinced that God is not in control and that we should handle it all. We soon realize that fixing a failed heart in our own strength does not yield the results we hoped for. I say this from experience, I have in my own strength tried to remedy the aches of my heart, and while for a while I thought I fixed it, it only came back even worse. After my many failed attempts, I quickly realized that my own strength had failed me and need an assured strength. I had to turn to the Lord for his strength. You may be like me trying to have a temporary fix of the heart in your own strength, but I encourage you to turn to the Lord for strength.

LOOKING TO God For strength

From the testimonies of others to our own experiences, we can all testify that it was God’s strength that helped us through the failures of our flesh and heart. We are to look to God’s strength because unlike our own his is assured to not fail us.

It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.

Psalms 18:32

The failures of our flesh and heart may try to convince us that all hope is lost and God’s promises to give us strength are not true. However, the Bible many times speaks of the strength the Lord gives us when we entrust him with all our failures. Below is a list of verses you can look to while seeking the strength of God;

  • Psalm 54:1
  • Psalm 46:1
  • Psalm 29:11
  • Psalm 28: 7-8
  • Psalm 37: 39
  • 2 Corinthians 4:16
  • Philippians 4:6

While there is not much we can do in our own strength, I pray that you find the strength to pray and ask God to give you his strength for all the failures you have experienced. I encourage you to shift your focus from despair to trusting the unseen strength God can give you. Let the failures of your flesh and heart know a greater strength than your own. It is time for you to take your rightful place, it is time for you to trade thorns for crowns.

Much love,

Xholiwe

Posted on by thornstocrowns

You were running a good race: Get back on track

Everyone has their favorite book of the Bible and mine happens to be Galatians amongst many others. I recently read a couple verses with a friend and spent some time reflecting on some of the verses. The entirety of this book emphasizes that people must have faith in Jesus Christ and Paul tells us of the freedom experienced when we live a life of faith in Christ over the law. The Galatians welcome his teaching on faith and freedom in Christ at the start and are doing so well, but unfortunately, in chapters 3 and 4 Paul begins to have concerns about them turned back from what he taught them. He addresses them and pleads with them not to turn back, why would they turn back? they were doing so well. (read Galatians 3:1-4; 4: 8-20).

We too are no different from the Galatians, we have received the teaching and know it to be true that there is freedom when we live our lives by having faith in Christ Jesus, but just as the Galatians, we can get persuaded to think otherwise and turn our backs on the truth. So I ask us the same question Paul asked the Galatians, Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? (Galatians 5:7 NIV)

YOU were running a good race

If you are like me and love to occasionally watch the Olympic track runners, then you might know what a good race looks like. Almost every race starts with the runner in the assigned tracks and all are signaled to start. There is usually a crowd watching in the bleachers and you can hear the many cheers as the runners accelerate. These runners have trained and put in their effort for this final moment, nothing should go bad as they sprint through their lane. It would be so disheartening to see your favorite track runner stumble and fall because someone cut into their lane. But it does happen and when it does you ask yourself what went wrong? They were doing so well! Paul must have felt the exact same way when he watched the Galatians stumble and fall.

Paul watched the Galatians train and put in their effort, he then watched them start to run their races and for a moment there, they were doing so well, and he excitedly cheered them on. He would hope that they would make it to the very end, knowing the obeying the truth he taught them. I can imagine his disappointment as he saw one after another trip and fall. He said to them, “You were running a good a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?” We know who cut on the Galatians and made them trip and fall, but how about us? What is cutting in on us?

I think of my very own race and let’s be clear Paul uses running races quite a bit as a way to describe our spiritual journey. So let us not confuse the two as we think even about our own races (our spiritual journey). In my spiritual journey, I experienced times when I was slowed down, completely distracted, came to a stop, and was persuaded by other things. It is quite easy than you think to be persuaded by these other things, the things that cut in on us as we journey with the truth we know. Paul says that these persuasions do not come from he who calls us in verse 8 of chapter 5. Who is the “he” that Paul talks about? It is Jesus, Jesus does not call us to these different persuasions that draw us away from him. But we do get persuaded by people and things, and recognizing these persuasions is important so that you can know when you are getting off track. I know I am getting off track when I;

  1. Start to revert back to my old ways. The old ways Jesus set me free from, I begin to think and act on them.
  2. Feed into the lies of the enemy that contradict God’s word over me.
  3. Give into believing something else (ideologies) contrary to what I know is truth.
  4. Find ways to justify my wrongdoings and get comfortable with continuously doing wrong.
  5. Neglect the word of God and stop spending time in it.
  6. When I worry more and pray less.
  7. Allow my selfish ambitions and desires to overtake me and I end up losing sight of Jesus.
  8. Surround myself with people who don’t care about their spiritual journey with Jesus.

I could keep going with the list, but these are just a few of the things that can persuade us away from the truth we know. It is important now to allow these persuasions to take us away from the freedom we get to experience in knowing Jesus. We steadfastly walk with the Lord through it all (read my other blog on steadfastly walking with the Lord). How can you maintain your truth in a world full of persuasions?

  1. You stand firm on the truth that you know. Your belief in Jesus Christ should not be easily swayed.
  2. You used the word of God as you practical application to how you live your life.
  3. You immediately become aware of when you begin to get out of track.
  4. You study the word of God and hide his word in your heart.
  5. You practice your faith and remain disciplined in it.
  6. You pray earnestly.
  7. You surround yourself with people that believe in your faith and will also help you grow spiritually.
  8. You repent of your old ways and get back on track.

Run your spiritual race well and stay focused on the goal to win the race set before you! This race you can not do on your own or even worse allow people and things to cut in on you. You have found a new freedom as you live your life in with faith in Jesus Christ. Let it not be taken away from you. Guard it with your heart, don’t be easily persuaded by things that do not come from him. Instead, be persuaded by the things of the Lord. Steadfastly walk with the Lord knowing that he will guide you as you journey through this life. It is time to take your rightful place! It is time for you to trade thorns for crowns!

Much love,

Xholiwe

Posted on by thornstocrowns

God’s Bigger Picture: The picture we don’t see

Two weeks ago my aunt and I went to a painting class. My aunt is an artist and I thought it would be a great birthday outing to celebrate her. This was for her because I am convinced that painting is not my strength. I find myself trying way too hard for only the final picture to not turn out, well, not so great. I have been to several of these painting classes with friends and family so believe me when I say, I just tag along. I knew this experience with my aunt wouldn’t be any different. Once we made it to the class, the instructor already had everything in place for us, the paint, brushes, a blank canvas, and to the side was a tiny little picture of how our paintings would look once we were done. My aunt said let us take a picture of the blank canvas so that we can show people how we started and then later our final picture! Great idea! I took a photo of the blank canvas and thought nothing much of it. I was too worried about how mine would turn out anyway. Sometime this week I was reminiscent of our time painting and decided to look at our photos and looked at where we started, our progress, and our finished paintings. It was the blank canvas that led me to want to write about God’s bigger picture for us that sometimes we don’t see.

Clearly, there is nothing to see with a blank canvas and I would like to think that all of us start from there in our lives. Newborn babies are a great example of this, especially when they blankly stare into this new world and do not know what to expect. A blank canvas could turn out to be anything based on the painter’s direction. Trust me when I tell you that it could be anything because all of us in the painting class based on how we followed instructions or just tried our best (pointing fingers at me), we all had different paintings despite us all referencing the little tiny picture of the final painting. With our lives, just like each painting was different in that class, our lives are different. But one thing that is universal for all of us is God’s bigger picture. What is God’s bigger picture for us?

What is God’s bigger picture for us?

As I continue to read God’s word his bigger picture continues to be much clearer. From start to finish, his picture has been the same. This picture does not look any different, the picture is the same for the poor, for the rich, for the one who struggles with sin, for the person who doesn’t believe, for the one who believes, it is for us all. God’s bigger picture is to dwell with his people. It was the same then and is still the same now. From the creation of man in the garden, God has desired to dwell with his creation. Unfortunately, with the fall of man, this picture got distorted making it hard for us to see what God sees. We shifted our focus to our own picture, and we have missed it all together. Every plan by God has been to fulfill the bigger picture for all humanity. Even when it meant him giving his only son Christ Jesus to redeem us. He did that with us in mind so that he may dwell with us. (read Ephesians 3:16-17).

When we dwell with God, we live with him and he lives in us, this means in more modern language, we do life with him. Doing life with God is one built on trusting him and knowing that through him all is fulfilled. He knows your beginning and he knows your end (read Revelations 22:13). Think of him as the instructor of your incomplete painting/picture, he will guide you through the fear, the joy, the frustration, the excitement, the regrets, the assurance, you can name it all so that ultimately you can see what he sees. It is a beautiful picture of you and him in it. Dwelling together as it was always meant to be from the beginning.

How can I see what he sees?

We too desire to dwell with God but as I mentioned earlier this image was distorted. The world became increasingly evil after the fall of man in the garden and this shifted our focus. However, there is a longing in all of us that sometimes can not be explained and if we dug deeper it would point to dwelling with God. Sadly, It can be hard to see what God sees when we are in a broken world that is filled with so many distractions. We may find ourselves focused on the wrong picture because when it is in front of us, it is impossible to think there is something else beyond it. If a person is presented with a picture of continuous pain, regret, fear, or loneliness, how can they believe in a bigger picture? They can only believe if presented with something different. We can only see what he sees when we re-align ourselves to his word. Reading his word daily and keeping it in our hearts for his word is truth. This means focusing on God in a world that may want so badly to draw us away from him. It is easy to fall into the trap of focusing on self and comparing our life to others in this distracted world. What this does is that it further distorts us from seeing God’s bigger picture. To see beyond this, may require you to realize that your life needs God’s guidance and much of your trust in him. (read Proverbs 3:5-6). Will you give God permission to dwell in you so that you may see clearly his bigger picture for you?

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

revelations 21:3 NIV

I hope you can see it now that God’s bigger picture is to dwell with you! He desires to live life alongside you. Trust me when I say that he is the best instructor/guide when it comes to painting a clear and meaningful picture. He wants to take that distorted image and make you see what he sees and that is a fulfilled life with him by your side. It is time for you to take your rightful place, it is time to trade thorns for crowns!

Much Love,

Xholiwe

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Steadfastly walking with the Lord: Is it worth it?

I had a conversation with my friend a while back who is an avid runner. This girl runs in any type of weather, mind you we live in the Midwest so you know we experience all seasons. I asked her how she does it and never skips a beat, and she said it is her continuous walking that has helped her build this momentum over the years. This momentum has allowed her to complete several 5k races and I am always so impressed by her passion and consistency. Her passion and consistency made me think about steadfastly walking with the Lord, which she is also great at! Steadfastly walking with the Lord is quite similar to what my friend does as an avid runner. It requires continuous walking that helps build one’s momentum to even do more walking. It is the commitment to walk alongside God through every season.

Merriam-Webster defines Steadfast as firm in belief, determination, or adherence. It further breaks it down and says that steadfast implies a steady and unwavering course of love, allegiance, or conviction. Our walk with God when all summed up in one requires all the things mentioned above. Unfortunately, it does get difficult in some seasons to hold on to a steady pace and build momentum. So what do we do when start to lose our steadfastness? We examine our hearts and see if anything has changed our pace or entirely has made us quit. Several things can disrupt our steadfast walk, but in this blog, I want to highlight a few that we may experience.

Hope Deferred

Typically, when our steadfast walk with the Lord is disrupted, we know that our hope has been deferred (read Proverbs 13:12). When our hope is deferred we consciously or unconsciouly conclude on the impossibly of the desired change ,our actions begin to somtimes indicate that we have taken another route in search for hope. You may have had hope for a long time that things will get better for that difficult situation, you were trusting God and the more this hope felt far off or put off for later you, the less you felt inclined to walk with the Lord. To make matters worse, you decide to walk this alone. What a difficult walk it is when done alone. I have been there and might I tell you, it is not an easy walk. I wish at that time I could have thought of people like Abraham who steadfastly walked with the Lord even when the hope for his promised child with Sarah felt impossible. I had to pick up again on my steadfast walk with the Lord. But the good thing about the Lord is that he is ready to walk with you once you decide that your hopelessness will not take you away from steadfastly walking with him. Even when the walk may feel uncertain for you, your part is to stay firm on what you know to be true.

SIN AND SHAME

Do you remember the story of the prodigal son Jesus told? The son went on his own leaving his father to a far-off land and with the money he inherited used it wrongfully for worldly pleasure. He committed sin through how he lived his life and later shame came upon him when all his money was gone. We know the ending is a beautiful story of forgiveness, but I want us to look at this story with us in mind and our steadfast walk with the Lord. Like the prodigal son when we allow sin in our lives and are overcome by it, it is quite easy for it to disrupt our steadfast walking with the Lord.

Sin gratifies only the needs of the flesh, pushes aside the Lord and like the prodigal son takes us to a far-off land away from our Father. With sin comes the shame and feeling unworthy to walk with the Lord when all he has been doing is waiting for you to come back home. Sin and shame tell us we can’t walk steadfastly with the Lord anymore, these two things try to convince us that we are unable to continuously walk with the Lord and build momentum. Oh, what a lie from the enemy. Indeed sin and shame can cripple us from steadfastly walking with the Lord, but then because Jesus died on the cross for our sins and shame there is redemption for us! We repent from our sins and re-commit to steadfastly walking with the Lord again. We then stand firm and determined to walk with the Lord and no longer make the choices that took us away from him. (Read 2 Peter 3 v 17-18).

Is it worth it?

Walking steadfastly with God is 100% worth it! I speak for myself and for many others who have chosen to stand firm on the belief that God is truly the best to walk with on the journey of life. Even for the most difficult times, because walking with him when all is well is quite easy. However, we are to maintain our pace even when steadfastly walking with him feels difficult. Because in the end, we know that God is with us. (read Isaiah 41:10; Matthew 1:23).

5 Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose].

1 Corinthians 15:58 AMP

Be encouraged that your steadfastness in the Lord is not futile nor wasted. The reward for it is greater because you decided to stay steadfast. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12 ESV). It is time for you to take your rightful place, it is time to trade thorns for crowns!

Much Love,

Xholiwe

Posted on by thornstocrowns

Letting go of your regret: When you can not take back what happened

Not too long ago I sat down feeling such an immersed amount of regret as I recollected a situation that I thought was in my past. The more my thoughts replayed the situation, the more I sank into this place of wishing I could reverse the hands of time. I immediately felt trapped by this regret and deeply thought of how this situation did not only hurt me, but it hurt others. Like a fresh-cut wound, I felt a rush of emotion that caused me to break down. I asked the Lord, I thought I let this go, I thought I moved on, but why then do I feel this way? At that moment I hoped to get an immediate response, but it was just me and my thoughts of regret for a while. I know that I am not the only one who has felt this way, I want to assume we have all been in a place where thoughts of regret flooded our minds, and letting go of these thoughts of regret felt nearly impossible, but thanks to God he surely has a way out for us all. Let us together look into letting go of regret for the things that we could not take back.

When regret is louder than Grace

It can be hard to let go of regret when there is a constant reminder of our mistakes and failures. When thoughts of regret play louder in our minds we forget the grace God freely has given us. Letting go of regret starts with knowing God’s grace for us. No one works harder than the enemy to keep us away from this because he would rather the regrets permanently play in our minds, making it impossible to let go. Satan would rather you live in shame and guilt instead of walking in the forgiveness of God and the freely given grace through Christ Jesus. When the enemy wants to amplify all your regrets, run to Christ. He wants to condemn you, but unfortunately for him, he can not keep you there because in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation. (Romans 8:1).

forgiveness and its role in letting go of regret

There is a lot of forgiving to do in most regrettable situations. When we do not forgive, ourselves and the people we may have hurt, or those who hurt us, we easily can stay trapped in feelings of regret. It is almost like walking around with an open wound and hoping we do not bleed. Of course, you will bleed if you go around with an open wound, so then you will need a covering to stop the bleeding. Our cover for this wound would be forgiveness. If you want to let go of regret forgiveness plays this role. It covers you and allows you to heal and move forward. If it was for your mistakes and failures seek Jesus and if it is because others hurt you forgive them. (Matthew 6:14).

mOVING FORWARD AFTER REGRET

Regret is a humbling way to remind us of God’s redemption. He gives us a way forward from all our regrets. It is not just with us, many people in the Bible too had regrets. God’s very first creation of mankind Adam and Eve had deep regrets about eating that fruit and leaving the garden. Abraham and Sara regretted having a child outside their marriage even after God’s promise to bless them. King David had many regrets, just read Psalms. I could go on with this list of biblical figures who like us experienced regret, but what all of us have in common is God’s redemption that moved them forward. They could have easily dwelled on their regrets, but if we want to use them as an example, we could learn from them. They moved forward with faith in God knowing he had a redemptive plan for them, God has a redemptive plan for us too! We no longer have to hold on to our regrets, but we can look forward to what is ahead. Here is what Paul has to say:

13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3: 13-14

Regret is behind us, we are graced by God to move forward through Christ Jesus. I just don’t want you to think that letting go of regret is an easy thing to do. For some knowing of God’s grace, forgiving, and realizing there is a redemptive plan can take a while, months even years. However, if you want to start to let go of regret make it a mandatory act to run to Christ when to spend too much of your time recollecting your regrets. Proceed to seeking forgiveness and forgiving others and not dwelling on your regrets. You surely can not take back what happened but you can surely trust God to work all things for your good, might I say, even your regrets! (Romans 8:28). It is time for you to take your rightful place, it is time to trade thorns for crowns!

Much love,

Xholiwe

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Cultivating your relationship with God: Being rooted in it

The idea of cultivating a relationship with God to many may feel like a daunting task and for some nearly impossible. I personally was quite intimidated by the idea of cultivating a relationship with God because I wanted to believe that I did not have what the others had. I would think to myself, I do not pray as eloquent as this person, or give my time as the other person, how then would God want a relationship with me? I single-handedly talked myself out of cultivating a relationship with God. If this is you I hope after this read, you feel encouraged to cultivate a relationship with God. It is not as intimidating as you think! If anything, it is quite easy because you have a God ready to build a relationship with you!

A relationship with a God you can’t see

Many may argue and say how do you build a relationship with a God you can’t see? And in all realness, it is a good question. My answer would be through having knowledge of him. You are unable to cultivate a relationship with God if you have no personal knowledge of him. Fortunately, God made knowing him quite simple, you can get to know him through the bible (his word). If you are like me and grew up in a Christian home, I grew up being taught of him, but I personally did not know him for myself. It was what was taught to me that helped me believe in his existence, but seeking him is what helped me know him. The amazing thing about God is that he is not hiding himself from you, he is in plain sight wanting to be known by you. Our part then is to seek knowledge of him.

Think about how we get to cultivate relationships on earth for a second, we first get to know the person who a minute ago may have been a stranger to us. We ask questions such as; how are you like? what do you enjoy? what matters to you? and the list goes on. These are the exact questions you can ask God if you want to cultivate a relationship with him. It will require you to seek these answers in his word (the bible) to know him better (read Jeremiah 33:3). While with earthly relationships it may feel easier because you can see and touch the person that does not mean you can not have a similar experience in your relationship with God. The key is to know him and cultivate this relationship with him. Doing so is not as complicated as it seems to be or even as intimidating. You can have a relationship with a God you do not see by seeking to know him better. (read Jeremiah 29:13).

communication with God

Any long-lasting and fruitful relationship requires communication. With our earthly relationships, we communicate quite regularly with people we know. The constant communication builds even deeper and more meaningful relationships. Our approach to making communication essential in our earthly relationships would also apply to our relationship with God. Cultivating a relationship with God requires you to communicate with him regularly. We do this by praying to him, we have the privilege of communing with God daily through prayer. Our constant prayer to God starts to grow our relationship with him because, with each prayer, you invite God to be a part of your life and relate with you. Similar to how you call a friend when you receive good news or even bad news, is the same way God would like to hear from you. His desire is to be known by you and commune with you. (read 1 Chronicles 16:11). It will surprise you how much your relationship with God will grow because of your constant prayers to him.

Becoming rooted

From my experience with earthly relationships, I can tell you that my strong and meaningful relationship had to be rooted so they could stand through it all. If you want your relationship with God to become meaningful, it has to be rooted. It is the type of relationship you want to stand and stay anchored in. Becoming rooted comes from your constant desire to know God, to be known by him, and to commune with him through prayer. Becoming rooted in other words is a commitment to your relationship with God. You stay in it until the very end.

17 [I always pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation [that gives you a deep and personal and intimate insight] into the true knowledge of Him [for we know the Father through the Son]. 18 And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the [a]hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the [b]saints (God’s people), 19 and [so that you will begin to know] what the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His [active, spiritual] power is in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength

Ephesians 1:17-19 AMP

Again, God wants to be known by you and I hope that you want to know him too. Cultivate a relationship with him, he has been waiting for you to come around. Tend to this relationship like you would to the dearest relationships you have on this earth and watch it grow. Share with God in your good, and in your bad and see how making him part of your life transforms you. It is possible to have a meaningful relationship with God. You have to cultivate! It is time to take your rightful place, it is time to trade thorns for crowns.

Much love,

Xholiwe

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The Grumbling Christian: Is it right for you to be angry?

Hello Crowned Royals! This blog post I am sharing with you today is several months late, but better late than never like my mom would always say. I remember thinking about this several times when I caught myself grumbling, and if you were doing it too, I would hope this would help you. Yes, I have grumbled several times and I am a Christian, I know we have all been there. In a world full of grumblers, it is quite easy to find yourself complaining even when you know all so well that you have a God that provides. I found myself grumbling way too many times last year, and last year was not too long ago, so clearly I have some work to do. So let us do the work together! The million-dollar question for the grumbling Christian is; “Is it right for you to be angry? This was the exact question God asked Jonah right after Jonah grumbled at him (read Jonah 4 v 4). So why did God ask Jonah this question? and why would God today ask you this exact question?

pROVISION AND CONTENTMENT

If you read the entire chapter 4 in the book of Jonah, there are two big things you need to notice between God and Jonah in this chapter, it is provision and contentment. Then soon after the provision and contentment comes the grumbling from Jonah. We may want to know how possible is it that one was provided for and was content, but quickly grumbled? Well, similar to Jonah, we have been provided for by God, and with God’s provision we then found contentment, but what happens when that is suddenly taken away from us? or the next provision does not come in our scheduled time? We grumble and in many instances believe it is right for us to be angry. Just think about the time when things were going in your favor and suddenly the unexpected happened, how was your approach? were you like Jonah grumbling at God or were you leaning towards knowing that God would provide just like he did before? I personally have done both and the times that I grumbled at God, I found this approach made me less content, and the more I grumbled, the more I felt anger and frustration towards the situation. It certainly is an unhealthy approach to handling situations, even for you. Take it from me who has found herself grumbling far too many times. You have a better chance of coming to a place of contentment for your situation when you spend less time grumbling.

The biggest understanding when it comes to provision and contentment is that it comes from God. The minute we start to grumble, we tell God in our grumbling that we prefer our comfort and how dare he take that away from us. We get angry and miss the lesson. And just like with Jonah, God is teaching us to not allow our grumbling to overshadow God’s provision for us and to also find our contentment in him.

Aren’t I DESERVING?

The argument of old times is that as a Christian I am deserving of all things good and indeed you are! You serve a God that provides even when you are not deserving. But when it happens that you do not have the provision, do not be quick to grumble and turn away in anger from God. Many have missed God’s next provision, assignment, and confirmation because they reasonably concluded that if the situation was not good then it is best to walk away from God grumbling in anger. Do not walk away in anger just yet! Think about the Israelites in the wilderness for a second with me. Evidently, they were miraculously provided time and time again by God, but that did not stop them from grumbling. How can people who have seen God provide in several miraculous ways still grumble? But we do this too, we quickly forget how God provided for us not too long ago in several situations that seemed impossible. Yet we grumble and if we are not careful with this, we go from grumbling to resentment.

HOW CAN A STOP GRUMBLING?

There is no formula that will magically stop us from grumbling, but there are several practical steps you can take that could help you. I will share some that have worked for me and I pray it helps you too;

  1. Continued gratitude to God – constantly reminding yourself of how God provided for you in other situations.
  2. Finding contentment in my current situation (even the unfavorable ones)
  3. Catching yourself when you start to grumble and acknowledging it sooner than later.
  4. Constantly reminding yourself that situations do change.
  5. Being angry and frustrated at God does not make the situation any better

The list is not long, but if you are like me and you want to stop with the grumbling then I will leave this here for you.

I know it can be hard to see God sometimes in these difficult situations we have to handle through life’s journey. It may feel like grumbling is easier when we are faced with unfavorable situations, but might I borrow the words of one apostle who in all situations found his provision and contentment in God. Even when he was arrested, Apostle Paul wrote this in a Roman Dungeon;

10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4 v 10-13

May God renew his concern for your current situation so that you are not found grumbling, but instead finding contentment in his provision for you. It is time for you to take your right place, it is time to trade thorns for crowns!

Much Love,

Xholiwe

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Positioned to praise: What happens when we praise

Whether as a collective or in one’s personal time with God, praise will forever hold its power. I have been thinking heavily about praise this week and thought about all the powerful and transformative things that happened because people praised God. I am convinced that when God said he delights in the praises of his people, he also meant that our praising him is powerful. I can attest to the power of praise in my life, I have seen what it can do and how my praising God changed my situations. I hope after you read this blog you allow yourself to praise God in whatever situation you may be experiencing right now. There is power in your praise!

The position of praise

I have been reading a couple of verses in Genesis this past week and as I read I see that everything God created was created with the intent to praise. And because we are God’s creation, we too are created with the intent to praise. Praise even when it is not given to God from man shows us that man intends to praise something. It is almost as if it is second nature, and notice if a man is not praising God, they will surely find something else to praise. Here is a good example, when the Israelites (people of God) were in the wilderness and many other times after, they decided they needed to give praise and worship to something else, and idol praise and worship seemed ideal at the time. Their act of praise to idols often led God away from them. I know that is then and this is now, but we too sometimes shift our praises and in this modern world there is much to praise aside from God. There are several ways we shift our praise towards something else, but for the sake of this blog, I want to highlight self-praise and praising man. When we shift our praise we find our position of praise is taken away from the initial intent God created us to praise. If we are to restart and shift our praise, how do we position ourselves to praise as intended? And how then will our praise be powerful?

Positioning ourselves to praise is not just our outward gestures, it needs to start from the heart (Psalms 119v7). Powerful praise happens when the intent of our praise to God is pure and humble. The act of praise is one that communicates to God that we acknowledge him and his position in our lives (Hebrews 13 v 15). So when we dance or clap or lift up our arms, and say words of praise we are saying “God I acknowledge you in my life”. When one is positioned to praise they are to start with searching their hearts first and knowing their intent is to praise God. When I think of pure intent and humility to praise, I think of King David from the bible. He was a King that was praised, but what he did well was he gave praise to God. He was always positioned to praise God through the good and bad of his life. Through his act of praise, he saw the transformative power of God and the favor of God over his life. He was a relentless praiser and it is evident in how his life and legacy carried through all the way to Jesus. The position of praise is a place of humility that takes away the need for man to self-praise, but instead, look to God and give God the praise as it was intended in the beginning.

The Power of our praise

There are many beautiful and transformative stories that the bible tells of what happened when people praised God and some of you might say that was for them only to experience, but I want to help you change your mind. I want you to believe in the power of your praise even in the darkest of times. Praise is your weapon and when you use it, you see for yourself its transformative powers. No longer is it something your read about in the bible, but you experience it. When you praise you send an open invitation for God to come in on that situation. We all know what happens when God steps in! Things happen! The difficult times feel lighter when you praise, the seemingly impossible situation becomes possible, and victory from the enemy is sure! Why? because you praised as it was intended. I pray that your praise may never be silenced by your life circumstances. The power lies when you open your mouth to give God praise despite it all. Praising is not just a bunch of words or a perfect symphony put together, it is much bigger than all of that. The soul yearns to praise God even without all the words and symphonies because we were created to do so. Those that fully know the power of praise will understand that God is in control and through their praise, they can reach to him and he will respond. He responds in amazing ways, his response is liberating and brings joy to the downcast soul.

He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.

-Deuteronomy 10 v 21-

He is the one you praise! He is in control! God is never caught off guard by our life and experiences. When we experience life’s ups and downs I do hope we are positioned to praise so that he can turn things around for us. Blessings are evident in our lives and all around us, we have seen transformative changes in our lives and that of others. Let us not be blinded by the idea that we are the ones that did that all on our own and fall into the trap of self-praise. Let us not fall into another trap of praising man for something we are certain was God’s response. He is the one we praise, not self or man, therefore, make his name known and give God the praise and see with your own eyes. It is time to take your rightful place, it is time to trade thorns for crowns!

Much love,

Xholiwe