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Firmly may your house stand: Christ your firm foundation

Many of you may be familiar with Matthew 7: 24-27. This portion of the famous Sermon on the Mount describes two people building houses; one built on rock foundation and the other on sand. I had the great privilege to dive deep into this portion of the study with some women in small group. We shared what Jesus meant by this illustration and how personally how rock and sand foundations worked out in our lives. Jesus from this illustration did not mean us building physical houses on either rock or sand. He meant building our hope, trust, and faith on either of these foundations will determine how we withstand the storm. The storms could be the pain we experience, the setbacks, the loss, the changes that come with life here on earth. Much simply said it is the trials and tribulations of life, which God did say we even as Christians will experience here on earth.

It is no surprise that when we build ourselves on a sandy foundation, it isn’t long before our house comes crumbling down. A sandy foundation was one where we lived without Christ being our foundation, hope, and faith. So when the storms of life came, it was very hard to withstand them. With sandy foundations, it meant doing this over and over again without any guaranteed hope that when the next storm passes, will we still stand? On the flip side, there is the house built on a rock, this rock being Christ Jesus. Anyone who builds on this foundation can be assured that even with the storms that come, yet will the house still stand! How then can your house firmly stand?

building your house on a solid foundation

I am not a builder, but from watching enough HGTV shows, I think I roughly have an idea of how the process works. Typically, the builders will examine the blueprint of the house they are to build before gathering the required material. The process of building starts with the foundation, the builder can not put the rest of the material without the foundation. The foundation is so important that the builder can’t compromise on it. Compromising the foundation can cause the house to collapse. In a similar this is how you would start to build your house on a solid foundation, which is Jesus Christ. You will need a blueprint, all required materials, and a solid foundation.

  • Blueprint – By definition, a blueprint is a guide used to make something. We also have a blueprint for our lives and it is the Bible. The Bible helps guide us on how to build our hope, faith, and trust in Christ. If we want to build our houses correctly, we follow the layout (words) and instructions that the Bible provides us.
  • Gather the required Material – To build our solid foundation in Christ we need the required material, we already know that sand does not build a solid foundation, so we gather the necessary material to help establish a firm foundation. This can be seeking God in prayer, putting faith into action, trusting his ways, spending time in his word, and listening to his said words so we can carefully follow them. (Read Matthew 7 v 25).
  • Establishing a solid foundation – If Christ is the solid foundation, then you need to start by knowing him and believing in him. if you are equipped with the material, now is the time to put it all into action and build. You are now establishing an intentional relationship with Jesus. This relationship is one you could never regret! Compromising the relationship can shake up your foundation, I speak for experience and encourage you not to do it. By you not compromising, you are assured a solid foundation even for the storms that will come.

Your life with Christ as your firm Foundation

There is this wonderful song that I highly recommend you listen to if you have not had a chance. It sums up what I will probably say here, it is called Firm Foundation (He won’t) by Maverick City and Cody Carnes. Your life in Christ does not mean that you are exempt from trials and tribulations. The difference between going through trials and tribulations with Christ as your foundation is that you go through them knowing that indeed he will not fail you. It will be evident in how he helped you get through tough times even in your past. Christ as a firm foundation in your life gives you peace, you find peace even when you go through trials because there is an assurance that he is there with you. (Read John 16:33). Your life may not be the perfectly perfect life that you may have imagined, but it surely is Jesus who helps keep you from falling. Christ as your foundation means that you hope and trust him with all your heart. (Read Proverbs 3: 5-6). There is no other greater foundation you would want to ground yourself in aside from that of Christ Jesus. Your faith will be tested as you experience life with Christ, but hold on dearly to what you know is true! Listen to his words and follow them diligently. Watch how with every trial your house shall still stand because you were wise to make Christ your foundation.

It is time to take your rightful place. It is time to trade thorns for crowns!

Much Love,

Xholiwe

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What a friend we have in Jesus: The truest friend

Growing up in a traditional church meant singing hymns and I must admit it is hard to pick my favorite hymns since I have many! One of my many favorite hymnal songs is ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’. Singing this song as a child, I did not understand what it truly meant to have Jesus as a friend. I am now grown enough to understand the precious gift and privilege of friendship with Jesus. Jesus on earth was the perfect model of friendship and without going against his word, he demonstrated true friendship with those he called his friends.

This does not take away from his Majesty, it reminds us that he has a love for us that is so deep that even in his sovereignty he can still be a friend.

Jesus as a friend

What is Jesus as like as a friend? This is not a mysterious question we will only know when we reach heaven. When Jesus was on earth he was a friend to many and evidently, the stories tell us how good of a friend he was. He understood the need for connection and relationship more than anyone he surrounded himself with. Because he knew we were created to connect with each other, he too made the effort to cultivate and nurture friendships. Jesus as a friend is;

  1. Sincere – Jesus genuinely wants to connect and form a friendship with us.
  2. Intentional – Jesus is an active participant in the friendship we have with him and purposefully engages with us.
  3. Present – Jesus is attentive to our needs and our desire for connection.
  4. Truthful – Jesus tells us the truth even when we may not like it.
  5. Reliable – Jesus will be there for us always.
  6. Trustworthy – Jesus would not betray our trust in him.
  7. Selfless – Jesus loves and cares for us deeply.

What a wonderful friend we have in Jesus! From experience, I can confirm he has been the truest friend to me. It is such a blessing to be connected with Jesus in friendship. I feel like an unworthy friend at times because I don’t steward my friendship with him very well. I know we have all been there, but I hope this does not stop you from cultivating your friendship and stewarding it well.

Being a friend of Jesus

If we know how Jesus is as a friend, how can we be friends of Jesus? He says it clearly in his word, we can not miss it if we are desiring his friendship. In John 15:14 Jesus says, “You are my friends if you do what I command you”. What does Jesus command us to do? Let us read Matthew 22: 37-39, he says,

'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].'

By obeying these commands we can create friendship with Jesus. Obeying these commands comes with intentionality from us. Our love for God and God’s people must be sincere without wrong motives. When we continuously make the choice to obey these commandments, we draw ourselves closer to friendship with Jesus. We can also cultivate our friendship with Jesus by communing with him. Communing with him is finding opportunities to engage with him, after all no good friendship is without coming together. As you cultivate your friendship with Jesus, remember to converse with him through prayer, and read his word so it can help you understand him more. Take some time to share your joys and burdens with him as you would with a sincere friend here on earth. He desires as much as you do for connection and a deep relationship with you. Set aside all the things that pull you away from cultivating a friendship with him. Being a friend of Jesus is truly a precious gift and privilege that we should not take for granted. Through his friendship, we find such great love and care that can never be compared to any other. It is something we should desire and treasure. It is time to take our rightful place. It is time to trade thorns for crowns.

Much love,

Xholiwe

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Who knocks at your door: Draw your attention

In a modern world of doorbells, buzzers, intercoms, and text messages I would like to point out the good old-fashioned hand knocking. Knocking on doors has been used to draw our attention since time. The expected knock of family or friends coming to visit, the unexpected knock of strangers, the knock of urgency/warning, and many other code knocks you can remember. A common question we typically ask ourselves after a knock is who is at the door? If you have lived quite a bit like I have, based on the knock, you may know who is at your door. This is all physical, our ears hear and know and we proceed with action. Can I shift your attention for the sake of this blog? Keep the idea of knocking and knowing who is at the door in the physical. The Bible in many examples has used knocking to illustrate this call of our attention to God. In the book of Revelations, God says in chapter 3:20, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” How does the knock from God sound? Of course, it is not one we can recognize with our ears, but surely our hearts know when God stands at the door and knocks.

When the heart knows who knocks at the door

Aside from keeping us alive, the heart is the internal ear of one’s soul. There are several things that we can know based on our hearts. We know when we are in love, afraid, excited, nervous, heartbroken, calm, and at peace when we pay attention to our hearts. How then can the heart communicate to us and draw our attention to hear and know who is at the door? If the heart is the internal ear of the soul, it will know what the knock from the Lord sounds like. He is the Creator of it all after all! Think of it this way, when an app is down or does not function as it should, it will only respond to the app developers coding correction because they created it. This is the same way our hearts respond to God’s knocking. It is almost like a natural incline of our hearts to know who exactly is at the door. We can ignore the knocking for a while until we can not anymore. God gently knocks, he doesn’t force his way into your life or like a robber breaks through your doors and steals from you. He stands there and your heart hears him knocking, the question is, do you respond?

Who is the knock for?

The knock is for all of us! The word in Revelations 3:20 was addressed to a people who knew God and probably heard him knock several times. They knew what his knock sounded like, but eventually had their attention drawn to other things. They no longer wanted to allow God into their lives as they were filled with their own means of sustenance. We are no different from these people, we have been hard of hearing because of our very own means to sustain ourselves. We may not see the need to respond to God’s knocking when we are preoccupied with our lives. Yet, he still stands at the door and knocks to draw our attention to him and do life with him.

Opening the door and inviting him

Opening the door for the Lord to come in is pleasant, and the heart tells you immediately. The times I have tried to keep the door shut after hearing God knocking were probably the most difficult in my life. I thought I could get by just fine on my own until I couldn’t anymore. Overwhelmed by the hurt and pain I concealed, my heart drew my attention to the door, and opening it was the best thing I could ever have done for myself. It was a different experience and from then on I decided to keep the door open and always invite God in. Opening the door and inviting him in means you want to have an intimate relationship with him. He no longer is just a God you read about in the books, but you know him and desire to have him in your life. You fellowship with him and him with you (Rev 3:20). What a beautiful opportunity we have to open our hearts to the Lord. If you have been hearing this knock for a while now, please don’t ignore it anymore. Allow him in! Your heart knows who is knocking at your door. 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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Intentional encounters: Make the time

In the 24 hours we have in the day, we can do as much as we possibly can. Before bed, we may think where did the time go? Time does have a way of slipping by us so easily and we oftentimes tend to lack the intentionality of our time. Typically, what usually suffers is our intentional time spent meeting with God. We have limited our encounter with God to only our Sabbath days when there are so many more opportunities for us to meet with him in our daily 24 hours. I am guilty of this sometimes, I get caught up in my own timetable, and making time to meet with the Lord becomes difficult. In these situations, being intentional about connecting with the Lord helps take away the focus from our own timetable to then connect with God. Making the time, and preparing to have an encounter with God does change the day-to-day. If you are struggling with intentionally encountering the Lord, please keep reading.

INTENTIONAL about your time with the Lord

By definition, to be intentional is doing something on purpose. When we think of ‘purpose’ of this blog post we must think of preparation to successfully meet with the Lord. I was speaking with a dear friend of mine and she was sharing her amazing encounters with the Lord. She told me how before these many encounters with the Lord through confirming scriptures, dreams, and visions, she took time to prepare herself. She did a Daniel’s fast for 21 days and was intentional about how she spent her time. In her preparation, she ensured that her food planning was well-curated and this helped her avoid the temptation of meat and animal products. Every day during the 21 days she spent an hour in prayer. She went even further to put away all distractions, things such as social media accounts, TV shows, etc. All this was intentional and well thought through, I can’t go into detail about her beautiful encounters with the Lord in these 21 days, but rest assured it was great! While you may not be thinking about a 21-day Daniel fast as a means to encounter the Lord, you can still be intentional in your daily encounter with the Lord. Understand that God wants to be connected with you, he wants to spend time with you. How then can you be intentional about your time spent with him?

  • Start your day with devotion and prayer.
  • Listen to praise and worship music.
  • Study your Bible and seek understanding.
  • Listen to a podcast/sermon on a specific topic you want to gain more understanding from.
  • Write your prayers and thoughts by journaling.
  • Create times when you fast and pray.
  • Create absolute quiet time where you can just focus on your time with the Lord with no distractions (especially your smartphone). Allow yourself to quiet the noise of each busy day.

These are a few things that I do that help me intentionally make time to spend with the Lord. You may look at the list and think these feel like chores, and honestly when I have fed my flesh more than my spirit, they have felt like chores to me too. Almost like a to-do list that I am supposed to check off and feel great about my accomplishments at the end of my day. But these intentional things listed above are far from feeling like chores when continuously done with the purpose in mind that we get to encounter God. The idea of intimately connecting with our creator holds greater significance when we make the time to do these things. We intentionally prepare ourselves for an encounter knowing that he too wants to commune with us. In our intentionality, we find the very thing that we so desperately need. 

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8

Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face continually [longing to be in His presence].

1 Chronicles 16:11 AMP

The scriptures invite us to draw near to God and to continually Seek his face. May your intentions to seek God and draw closer to him be pure and true. It will surprise you what God can do with your intentional ways to encounter him daily. Encountering God does do so much for one’s journey, I can testify to how being intentional has helped my closeness to God. In your intentions to encounter the Lord, your faith is built, you are strengthened, you establish discipline and most importantly deepen your relationship with God. Intentionally making time for the Lord means that you recognize his significance in your life! If it has been a while since encountered the Lord and want to re-establish your connection start with making time for him in your day. He is waiting for you and eager to draw nearer to you as well.

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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To love God and to love his people

The Gospel when studied gives us such great understanding of God’s love for us. I remember my very first memory verse as a child was John 3:16. For God so loved the world that he gave us his beloved son. Such great love! We are often reminded that God loves us through his word and as we continue to be taught of his love in the church. I was fairly new to my now home church when my pastor said the mission of the church for new members was to love God, love his people, and make disciples. I have fixated my thoughts this week on what it means to love God and his people. Often times we get so enamored by God’s love, which is great! But we then forget that we are to love him and love his people. How then do we love God and love his people?

Loving God

Loving God should be easy, at least that is what I think. God’s love is not something we have to earn because it is given freely. Why then do people find it hard to love him? Well, there are several things that can stop us from loving God, but I will share the obvious one which is the sinful nature of man. It can be quite hard to love God when sin pulls us away from knowing God and inevitably loving him. Another thing that makes it hard for us to love God is loving him wholeheartedly. There are many competing things in our lives that can easily distract us from fully loving God. But to love God requires all of our heart and not some of it. (read Mark 12:30). I think of David when it comes to loving God, a man after God’s own heart. Was David sinful? yes, aren’t we all? But his heart ran after God relentlessly even in his sin, he loved God. The Psalmist as he is fondly known, through his many highs and lows showed us how to love God. How then can we love God;

  • Be obedient to God’s commands
  • Be intentional with your time spent daily with God (in your waking, your work, your routine tasks) make God part of your day.
  • Love his people.
  • Intimately pray to him, no need to rush. Have a conversation with God.
  • Like David, worship and praise him at every chance you get.
  • Mediate on his word and allow him to bring a greater understanding of it to you.
  • Love him with all of your heart!

It is quite obvious that God desires to have a relationship with you. His love for you is readily available. Love God just like David, even in the highs and lows of your life, it does make a greater difference to love and be loved by God.

Loving his people

Do you know that by loving God’s people, you love him too? God commands us in his word to love one another (read Mark 12:31). The question is how do we love others if the others do not love us back? We love them anyway! Unlike God’s love that is freely given, sometimes we do not love like God does, we instead hold back our love for others. We allow resentment towards others to take precedence over loving them. We only love those who love us, but God says to love even our enemies! It is all people! The temptation to not love others can be so easily done because, unlike God, people are flawed and because of this we conclude it is perfectly okay to be loveless towards the other. But if you read your bible, you know that this is not true. The Bible shares many stories where people did not love each other and what happened later was nothing to desire. The envy of brothers led to them selling their brother into slavery. The hate towards God’s people kept them enslaved for 400 years. The deceit of receiving God’s blessing led to sibling rivalry. I could go on and on to show you how not loving one another is destructive. We can pull from all these examples and see why it is important for us to love one another. So then how do we love God’s people;

  • Pray for others. (This includes your enemies!)
  • Serve one another with integrity.
  • Extend compassion to others.
  • Do not judge others.
  • Forgive those who have wronged us.
  • Give to others sincerely.
  • Work towards living in peace with others

If you are like me and you try to imagine a world where everyone loves one another as commanded by God, that love for others can start with you and become a reality. I can admit that I sometimes fail to love others as commanded and ask God to help me love others as he does, even my enemies. I don’t always get it right, but I still seek God’s help when loving others. You can do the same too! Keep this verse in your thoughts as you love God and his people.

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.’ This is the second: ‘You shall [unselfishly] [a]love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. - Mark 12:30-31-

It is the greatest command after all! To love God and to love his people! 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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Thoughts on Peter’s Repentance: The bitter weeping of repentance

I have been on this thought of repentance for a while now and I hope my thoughts also allow you to think of repentance much more deeply. Over the weekend I read a chapter in Andrew Murray’s book called ‘Absolute Surrender’, my dear friend recommended this book and I would highly recommend it to you. Especially if you are struggling with absolute surrender or in other words repentance to the Lord. I am far into the book, but this chapter, quite shorter than the other chapters I have read, highlighted Peter’s story. I must admit this chapter was so thought-provoking, hence me thinking my thoughts louder to you.

If you were by any chance raised in the church, as kids we infamously were taught that; Peter walked on water with Jesus, he was one of the close disciples called by Jesus, and he loved Jesus so much, that he eventually became a diligent messenger of the Gospel. I personally loved these stories and as a kid, it was a great way to establish my faith and love for Jesus. Our study school teachers may have intentionally left out the fact that Peter was flawed, just like most of us. I understand them, as a kid, I wouldn’t fully understand, but how I wish it was much clearer. Well, I now get to learn more about flaws as I figure out my own flaws with the Lord. Another famous story of Peter that was taught in Sunday school, was Peter denying Jesus. I wouldn’t fully understand the magnitude of this moment for Peter until I had denied Jesus in my actions.

Back to the book, after reading this short chapter in Andrew Murray’s book, I think, it brought much understanding to the denial and what it meant. In my thoughts I was thinking, how could Peter a man who walked on water with Jesus, gave up his career as a fisherman to follow Jesus, saw Jesus perform miracles, and defended Jesus still deny him. Andrew had the answers to my questions, he said in his book “I do not know a man in the Bible who gives us greater comfort. When we look at his character so full of failures and at what Christ made him by the power of the Holy Spirit, there is hope for every one of us.” This immediately gave me hope! As I read this, I thought of my own failures and how much at that moment I related to Peter. But if not for the power of the Holy Spirit. Maybe as you read this, you feel the same way and I hope that gives you comfort.

The turning point of Peter

Think with me for a minute, would you? Peter denied Jesus, right? something he said he wouldn’t do even when Jesus said he would. The time comes, and at the third crow of the rooster, Peter denied Jesus. This was just as Jesus had told him. He must have been devastated, disappointed, and guilted by his action. This fulfillment led Peter to weep bitterly because he knew what this meant to him. But according to Andrew Murray, he said that weeping bitterly was Peter’s turning point. What changed in Peter’s heart in this moment? Most scholars of the bible and theologians say that this was the moment of Peter’s repentance. I think this was not the idea I had for Peter’s repentance, bitter weeping? Why would a friend of Jesus weep bitterly, he should have an easy turn point, right? He worked with Jesus for three years, and he surely must not weep, what does he even have to weep about? Well, he wept bitterly because in that moment he knew that his self-will was not greater than God’s will. In his action of denying Christ, it meant that he did not deny himself. Andrew says, “There is no choice for us; we must either deny self or deny Christ. There are two great powers fighting each other – the self-nature in the power of sin and Christ in the power of God. Either of these must rule within us.” Peter in his realization of choosing self knew he denied God and this is Peter’s turning point. What is yours?

Peter was not the only one

Sincere repentance comes with changed actions. Peter showed us this after this turning point. He was about Jesus’s work until his very last breath. He spread the Gospel and I am certain that came with a lot of denying of self. He was human just as we are, so I could imagine that even in the temptations to choose himself, he would go back to that very moment he denied Christ. He was not a man without sin, but his actions showed that he chose Christ even when he was put to death. He was persecuted for the Gospel, yet he continued to pursue Christ. The bitter weeping meant something, it meant a change of heart, an entire purge of the choice of self.

You may be exactly where Peter was, given the choice between self or Christ. Peter was not the only one who had to fight between the two choices. If like Peter you chose self and denied Christ, do not be guilted by your actions, but instead make it your turning point. You can change the choice you made and fully accept Christ. Walk with Christ like Peter did and find Christ again. You may not have a rooster crow for the third time like Peter did, but you do know the actions of self that drew you further away from Christ. It may cause you to weep because you then realize the magnitude of your actions, but take heart, weeping bitterly is sometimes what is needed for us to remember Christ and repent. 

Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover or pretext for evil, but [use it and live] as bond-servants of God. - 1 Peter 2:16 (AMP)
for you have been born again [that is, reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose] not of seed which is perishable but [from that which is] imperishable and immortal, that is, through the living and everlasting word of God. - 1 Peter 1:23 (AMP)
Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you. - 1 Peter 5:6 (AMPC)

It is time for you to take your rightful place. It is time to trade thorns for crowns.

Much love,

Kholiwe

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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