How Do You Use Your Words?

Hello Everyone,

How is your week going? Hope you are having a lovely week. Today's article is about "How You Use Your Words."  How do you use your words?

Let me share a personal experience with you. I had an interesting experience in the Year 2009. After my undergraduate degree, everyone kept asking me about my plans prior to my graduation ceremony. I spoke positively that I was going to gain admission to a particular university to embark on a course (Masters in Social Work). After all, the Bible says in Romans 4:17b that we should "call those things which do not exist as though they did."

What does it mean to be Born Again by Water and the Holy Spirit?

Hello Everyone,

How is your week going? In the last 3 weeks, I have been writing about the Holy Spirit. I hope you have been blessed by the articles that the Holy Spirit has inspired me to write.

Today's article is about being Born Again by Water and the Holy Spirit 

Nicodemus and Jesus

Nicodemus was a moral man who was held in high regard in his community. He came to Jesus one night privately and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher.” Nicodemus probably had a question to ask Jesus but before Nicodemus could say anything else, Jesus told him in the Book of John 3:3, what it means to be Born Again. 

Jesus explained to Nicodemus that no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are Born Again. Nicodemus was marvelled by this statement, he had to ask Jesus how it was possible for someone that is old to be born again, and how it was possible for an individual to enter into their mother's womb to be born a second time.

Perhaps Nicodemus did not understand why someone that is already living their life (perhaps a good life? an upright life?) needed to be Born Again. 

What does it mean to be Born Again?

To be Born Again is to have the life of God. God wants you to have His life. He wants you to experience a new birth by accepting to follow Him. He would like you to be born spiritually with the life of God. He would like to guide your life rather than for things around you to guide you. He created you, He would like you to make a choice to follow Him.

The new birth gives you spiritual life and welcomes you to the family of God. John 1:12 says "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right (the authority, the privilege) to become children of God, to those who believe in His name." John 1:13 further states that "They did not become his children in a human way. They were not born because of the desire or wish of some man. They were born of God (spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified)."

So, how can you experience this new birth? 

Jesus answered Nicodemus and said "I tell you the truth unless you are born from water and the Spirit, you cannot enter God's Kingdom (John 3:5)."

What does it mean for the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter?

Hello Everyone,

How was your week? Thank God It's Friday! Last week, I wrote about the power of the Holy Spirit and how the Holy Spirit teaches us all things. If you missed the article, click here to read it. 

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you (John 14:26 KJV version).

During the week, I set a task for my Bible Study Group members to dig deeper on what it means for the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter and for us to explore the Greek meaning of the word "Comforter." I was immensely blessed by the study and I thought to share a few points with you from our study.

The Power of the Holy Spirit

Hello Everyone,

How are you doing? Hope you had a lovely weekend. It's a New Week! Glory be to God in the Highest! This week's article is about the Power of the Holy Spirit. 

Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity and Jesus Christ identified the position of the Holy Spirit as the same as the Father and the Son. Let me share some Bible verses to buttress my points. The Scripture says in 1 John 5:7 "For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one." 

Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19 that we should "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

God Can Stir Up the Heart of Non-Christians

Hello Everyone,

Do you know that our Lord Jesus Christ can stir up the heart of those that are not Christians including hostile authorities so that He can accomplish His plans on earth? God has the power to use anybody and anything to fulfil His plans because He is supreme. God owns the whole world, and every single thing is subjected to Him (Hebrews 2:8). My daughter loves singing this famous song that says "He's got the whole world, in His hands, God's got the whole world, in His hands, He's got the whole world, in His hands, He's got the whole world in His hands."

Let me share a story in the Bible with you. There was an ungodly king called Cyrus that reigned in Persia from 559 to 530 (B.C - BC stands for Before Christ). He wasn't an Israelite neither did he believe in the God of Israel. The Bible recorded something amazing that happened to Ezra in the Book of  Ezra 1:1-2. It says:

 "The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah." 

Did you notice what king Cyrus said above? He said the Lord God of heaven has commanded him to build a house for Him in Judah. This was a man that did not believe in the Lord God of Israel but because the Lord stirred up his spirit, God used Cyrus to establish His sovereign plans on earth.

King Cyrus further stated in Ezra 1:3 that: "Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem."

There are a number of lessons that you can learn from how God stirred up the spirit of an ungodly king. Let me share a few and please feel free to add more lessons to it: 

1a) God can stir up the heart of anyone towards Him. This means if you are trusting God to transform someone's life, please don't give up praying to God. Keep praying and trusting God even when things seem impossible. At the perfect time, God will stir up the heart of the person towards Him. Likewise, you could be praying concerning hostile leaders, never give up praying as God can make a way where there seems to be no way. He can stir up the heart of a king or a leader towards Him. In fact, Proverbs 21:1 says that "The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; He guides it wherever He pleases."

1b) Also, God can stir up the heart of anyone to favour you. You do not need to have a special relationship with the person before God uses them to favour you.

2) It is not by accident that people accomplish God's purpose for their lives. Did you know that 100 years before Cyrus accomplished an assignment for God, Prophet Isaiah had prophesied that Cyrus will be a shepherd for God and he will do what God says and he will play a role in rebuilding Jerusalem and restoring the temple (Isaiah 44:28)?  This is quite encouraging to know that God's desire is to cause His children to accomplish His work on earth. Although I believe sin in an individual's life could delay God's plans for their lives from being fulfilled or for the plans to be cut short (Deuteronomy 28:15). Therefore, it is advisable for you to keep walking in obedience to God's Word so that His plans for your life can be fulfilled as He intends them to be.

3) Don't be too quick to dismiss what a non-christian tells you. Take time to examine their advice in line with the Word of God, and also ask God to speak to you concerning what someone has said even if they are a Christian.

Are there other lessons that you could pick out from how God stirred up the spirit of Cyrus? Please, take a minute to share by leaving a comment. 

Prayer

I would like to use this opportunity to pray for Christians that are in Afghanistan. I pray that the Lord will keep them safe during this difficult period in Jesus' name. I also pray that the Lord will stir up the spirit of the leaders in Afghanistan to favour Christians, and for the gospel to keep being spread across Afghanistan in Jesus' name. 

Have a lovely week!

Yours in Christ,

Mysses Lafunky

I have a free e-book for you. The book (15 Women of the Bible: How they lived a Purpose Driven Life). This e-book was written by my Bible Study Group. To download on Google Drive for free, click here.

Do You Sometimes Limit God?

Hello Everyone,

How are you doing? Hope you had a lovely weekend. It's a New Week! Glory be to God in the Highest! This week's article is about my recent experience with God. I was having a conversation with God in my thoughts as you know, God hears our silent prayers. A Scripture to corroborate this can be found in Psalm 139:4 which says that God knows what we are going to say even before we say it. 

Back to my silent conversation with God. I asked God that I would like Him to make provisions for us (my family) to bless some people with some particular gifts. I carefully came up with a reasonable figure that I believe God should bless us with so that we can be a blessing. God immediately explained to me that I was limiting Him. He said that my prayer was doubting His ability to provide for us abundantly. He reminded me of His Word in Psalm 24:1 which says "The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein." 

God reminded me that the earth belongs to Him, He owns every single thing in this world, and He can create and make provision for everything even things that my mind cannot comprehend, God said He can create new things as He has the power to do anything, absolutely anything. Isn't this mind-blowing? 

God also said every single thing is under His control, and the whole world and I have no idea of things that are still subjected to Him. The Scripture that corroborated what God said to me can be found in Hebrews 2:8. Let me share an image that you can read about Hebrews 2:8. 

Making A Conscious Effort to Spend Time with God

Hello Everyone,

How are you doing? I hope your new week is going well. Last week, I (with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit)  wrote about "The Use of the Lord's Prayer." If you haven't read the article, please click this link to read it; you will gain something new. This week's article is about making a conscious effort to spend time with God.

As a Christian, are you intentional in creating time to connect with God? God is always wanting to spend time with His children. I love the story of Zaccheaus in the Bible (Luke 19:1-6). Let me share a Bible Story video about Zaccheaus with you. This video is from Saddleback Kids Bible Stories' Youtube channel. Click here to watch the video.