Single by Choice

"You're so cute. How comes you're single?"
"Can I be that man in your life?"

I cannot tell a person how many times I've had males ask me those questions. If only i had US $1for every time I've been asked that question....

I have no idea why persons think being single is the end of the world. One might want to justify it by saying that it's because of bad heartbreaks why I remain single, but that's not it. I choose to remain single. I refuse to let an empty void in my heart destroy me by going in a relationship for the wrong reasons. I refuse to hurt others because I'm hurt and refuse to sap another person's energy to fulfil my emotional needs. Yes I've had many offers, and I've denied all of them just for the sake of guarding my heart.

I'll be transparent for a bit. I've had 4 bad heartbreaks in the space of less than one year. I'll just call it unfortunate that I've allowed myself in the same situation so many times. 3 out the 4 relationships started because I felt lonely and distraught and wanted some form of comfort and security. I didn't go in those relationships because of genuine interest in the guy, but rather to fill the emptiness I felt inside. If your reasoning behind going into a relationship- females and males alike- is that you don't want to be alone, or because you want to impress a group of people for a simple rating, then you're reasoning is wrong.

I was watching a YouTube video by Toure Roberts (you should really watch his videos) speaking about relationships and soulmates, and he said something that stood out in my mind. He said that two broken people cannot be in a relationship. If you're looking to that other person to fill the cracks in your heart or to put it back together, then you better prepare for another heart shattering experience. When that person leaves, you will become incomplete again... And they may even widen the already deep cracks present in your heart. This is why it is so important to guard your heart.

When your heart is broken and you're hurting, you tend to hurt others as well....including those people you love. We become like cactuses or broken glass, so whenever someone tries to reach out to us, we will stick or scrape them. They will get bruised. Not everyone will understand that period in your life, and as a result you'll get different responses from different people. Sometimes even your best friends will leave you to suffer alone, but that is actually a good thing in the long run. Yes it will hurt a lot, but it teaches you to survive on your own. It teaches you to find contentment within yourself and with yourself. People won't always be around, so it is best you learn to be content with your own company.

Before getting into a relationship, learn to enjoy your own company. Make sure you're not a badly broken up individual looking for a void filler to help bring you comfort. Make sure you're a whole being before you get in a relationship. If you need to seek counselling, do so.  And if you are a whole being, watch out for broken emotion and energy drainers. They will leave you emotionally exhausted. Guard your hearts.

Why Am I Still Lonely?

"...And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."- Matthew 28:20

Loneliness...
That's a word many persons are familiar with. It's a word many of us have cleaved on to, held hands with, and entertained. Yes that also includes Christians.

When was the last time you've been lonely? Was it when you were with your friends? With your family? In church? At school? A concert maybe? After a bad relationship? The fact of life is that we're humans and loneliness is inevitable. Our natural response to loneliness is rejection. We try to push it away, hide it, or run away from it. Loneliness creates a void within us that we will always have the urge to fill. Nobody likes to feel incomplete right?

The sad truth is that we tend to take on the wrong things as void fillers. There's a longing for completion, so we look for that " missing piece" to complete out unfinished or dismantled puzzle. We look for that missing puzzle piece in relationships, friendships, physical activity, education, wealth, marriage, crowds, etc. Usually, those pieces never fit, and we know they don't fit, yet we still try to force them into our void, knowing that one day it will just fall out or cause us a multitude of pain.

We can't forcefully fill any voids within us. We don't know the shape and size of it, so we will not ever be able to fill it with the right thing. We do, however, have a personal relationship with the one who knows the depths and measures of our emptiness, and knows exactly how to fill it. We hold hands with Jesus who promises that weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. He also promises that he will NEVER leave us nor forsake us.

Coming from a place of loneliness myself, I've searched for many things to fill the emptiness within me. I've used relationships, casual sex, friends, music, alcohol, food, sleep...so many of the wrong things. Then I learnt that the answer didn't lie within me, but the Christ who lived within me. Yes I'm still alone almost everywhere I go, but I'm learning by the grace of God to be content with being by myself. The Lord has a purpose for everything. Maybe the people around you were influencing you the wrong way, and you were developing some negative traits from them. Maybe you were too dependent on these things and/or people and God wants to teach you independence and help you find your worth. Maybe you're trying to solve a God-shaped problem with a man-made solution. Whatever it is, just know that God is doing it for your future good, and also to teach us something. Here are a few things:

1. He's using your loneliness to open your heart to love and allow you to see the hidden beauty within others.
2. He wants you to gain sight of your purpose  by taking you out of the crowds and the noise.
3. He wants you to pay more attention him, so he isolates you.

Take time to analyse your loneliness and how you're approaching it. Are you trying too hard to fill the void within you? Where are you looking for these void fillers?

" Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." - Isaiah 40: 28-31 (ESV)

Scandal of Grace

The first thing that may come to your mind when you see this title is that popular song from Hillsong that says "Scandal of grace. You died in my place so my soul may live."....





In all honesty, that's how I got inspired to write this.

I was scrolling through their new album , Zion (you should really listen to that album),and the title caught my eyes. It had me asking myself "How can someone scandalize grace?" Because grace is just grace.  So I asked God to answer that question for me.

In doing that, a very popular scripture flashed across my thinking space. Romans 6: 1-2

"  Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? ² Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?"

Grace was already put to shame on the cross when Jesus was crucified. All the morals of grace were offended and humiliated on that cross.Grace was mocked and jeered. It was made fun of and taken for a joke. But afterwards, the same ones who scandalized grace were the ones later begging for it to be extended to them. Ironic right?

Grace is set up in such a way that no matter how deep in sin you are, grace is naturally designed to go deeper than that sin just to rescue you.

Paul was saying in that scripture that we shouldn't just deliberately sin because we know we are under the grace of God. In fact, being under the grace of God means that we are no longer subjected to the harsh punishments that come along as a result of sin because we should be dead to sin.

And that is how we abuse the scandal of grace....by deliberately sinning

Have you ever had someone tell you as a Christian "It doesn't matter if you do it. You can just ask God for forgiveness after." Whether it be a peer, family member, or even a fellow Christian?

Most if not all of us have had that kind of experience at one point or the other. Someone asks us to deliberately sin then run to God for forgiveness. That is not how grace works. In fact when we do that, we are now scandalizing the grace that was already scandalized enough on the cross. In other words, they want us to continue in sin under the name of grace. Kind of like a wolf in sheep's clothing.

In doing that, we are now telling lies on grace, that if you knowingly accept this sin then choose to repent after, grace will infinitely abound with mercy. That will happen for a time because God is merciful. But what happens when God decides that enough is enough and that you've abused his grace for too long?

You may ask "But can God withdraw his grace?" The answer to that is no. Grace is a gift given by God to mankind so that they may have life and have it more abundantly. But what God does is instead of postponing the punishment that comes with the sin, he pours it out on whoever.

Let's look back at Israel. They knew they were in sin, but they didn't care. They would just sin under the name of God, which  got God very upset. God decided to show mercy and give them countless chances to turn from their wicked ways and stick to His ways. But they refused. Instead of turning away for good, they continued to sin under the name of God. When God finally got fed up, He just poured out His anger on them to get them to understand that He only gives so much and no more chances.

Have you ever thought about what would happen if God was to pour out his anger on an individual? Think of all the things that happened to Israel as a result of sin- enslavement, drought, famine, etc. That was just a nation. Imagine what could happen to an individual? Any person who has been subject to that can tell you that when the bible says you don't want to fall into the hands of God, you REALLY don't want to fall into the hands of God because we never know what he's going to do to punish us. Sometimes, persons get so caught up in fulfilling their own fleshly needs that they're willing to abuse the grace they've been given just to get it done.

So fellow brethren, let us not abuse the grace of God that was already scandalized on the cross. Think about it. Imagine if you had to bear the weight of sin for the world and die an embarrassing death for all of them, only to have persons live the same sinful life afterwards. You may be upset because you're saying after you died for these persons' sinful lifestyle, they come under the grace that was scandalized for their sins, and revert right back to their deliberately sinful lifestyle afterwards.

Don't abuse the scandal of grace. Instead, live for God to the best you know how, and where you genuinely fall short, ask Him to fill in.

Personality, Character, Reputation...are they different?

This is a question that has had many people thinking. Some say that the three are different, but others say that the three mean the same thing. The question now is: Which set of people are right?

Google listed character as a synonym for personality and reputation. But that is not entirely true. The three do have a similarity in that they all deal with human attributes, but they are totally different from each other.

What is personality?

Personality is how one views one's self. Whatever you see your self to be, that is your personality. You may see yourself as being a good person, a 'thug', a person who is always caught up in the hype, etc. One thing with personality is that it is dynamic- dynamic meaning your personality is ALWAYS changing. You may not want to identify that fact, but it is indeed true. Some girls and guys when they want to look for a guy/girl who they classify as being 'husband/wife material', one thing they always say they look for is a good personality. If you're one of those guys/girls who look at personality, you need to stop. If you look for personality, you'd only be getting a cover up as to who the person really is. People can have more than one personality, and can choose which side to show you.

What is Reputation?

Reputation is how society views you. Like personality, reputation is always changing. in one part of society you may have a very good reputation, and in another section your reputation can be questionable. If many people were to watch the reputation of others to determine whether or not they should or should not associate with them, there would be a lot of people without friends and many people wouldn't be in the happy marriages they are in now. Don't watch a person's reputation because that can lead you astray. You can get a false judgement as to who the person really is if you follow everything that society says about them.

What is Character?

Character is the person who really are. It has to deal with the mental and moral qualities that are distinctive to  a specific person., i.e., no two people have the same character. They may have similar characters, but there is always at least one aspect of that character which makes it different from all the similar ones out there. Character is formed over time, so the activities you engage yourself in help in the formation of that character. If you train yourself to use good manners daily, it becomes a part of your character over time. Likewise, if you train yourself to curse every time someone wrongs you, that also becomes a part of your character. What you feed into your soul is what you will get out of it, and whatever you get out of it is classified as being your character.

In essence, personality and character are always changing, and can be created instantaneously. Character develops overtime from the various things you expose yourself to. When looking for friends, or someone to call a spouse, you should look for a good character, because character is the true self. Personality and reputation are just developed views of a person by society and self respectively.

God Will Teach You What Others Refuse To

1 John 2: 27
"27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him."

Youths in the church are looked down on a lot by older members. They are labelled because of their foolish youthful actions which these older members deem "unacceptable". Instead of trying to correct the youth and lead them down the right path, they spread rumours about them this one minute, and the next minute are in their faces smiling and saying "God bless you". Many youths sit and think to themselves "Why won't they give us a chance to prove our strength?". "If they don't like what we do, why don't they teach us what to do?". This is a sad, yet true fact.

Those are very good questions to ask, especially the latter. These people have the knowledge and skill and wisdom, yet they sit and criticize instead of teach. That is one of the reasons youths are rebellious and don't want to stay in church. There is too much judgement of the youths. Many youths say " I wish I knew what to do, but i don't have anyone to teach me." If you're a youth with these thoughts, there is someone who is more than willing to teach you- the Holy Spirit. 
John 14:16- "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
This scripture shows the holy spirit being a teacher. He will teach you all you need to know. He not only teaches, but empowers you as well. In old days, the elders of the church would take the youths under their wings, and share their wisdom with them. Nowadays, the elders are not so much into teaching youth, but rather finding faults with their youthful actions. Youths are willing to learn, but they are not being taught by elders. That doesn't mean that they still won't learn anything. What the church fails and refuses to teach, the holy spirit will teach. If you commit yourself to being used by the holy spirit, there's no limit to the great things you can achieve. 

Yes people will talk and say all manner of things against you, even the very people whom you expect to be prime examples in the church. That shouldn't stop you from being the power-packed young person that you were destined by God to be. You were created to be great, and no matter what obstacles are before you now, you are still going to end up being great. Your latter will be greater than your former. Just have faith in God, and allow his Holy Spirit to direct you.

Change- D.A Dobbs

Every second in any given day provides one with an opportunity to change. Most times, persons go around saying "I'm not ready yet." or "I'm too young. When I get older I'll consider it." and so many other never ending excuses about why they can't change. Have you ever considered the fact that you may not live to see the next second? Or have you thought about the fact that some tragic thing could happen along your path of life, which will then cause you to discard the whole thought of change completely?

For all the people who like to come up with excuse after excuse as to why you can't change for the better, it's not that they're considering change. It's that they don't want to change, but they make excuses for your comfort. You get this hope that they're considering the process of change, when in reality they just told you something for you to leave them alone. Each time you approach these persons about positive change, especially where accepting Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour is concerned, you hear a different excuse every time as to why they can't do it.

As said before, it's not that they're considering it, it's just that they don't want to change. They love the lifestyle that they have so much, and are afraid to let it go. They think about the fact that they won't be able to do all the "fun" things they are doing now, and will end up in a supposedly "boring" life. This is a life they love to live, and changing that lifestyle would cause their "fun" to end, which is what they don't want. Which is where these excuses come into play.

What many people need to know is that God uses change to make the good better. Note also that God is not the only being that orchestrates change. The devil uses change to make the good turn to bad. There are agents in every person's life that influence both these changes. The mistake most of them make is that they end up embracing the wrong form of change, then end up with regrets later. Good for some, they get to make a u-turn and go forward with the positive change. For the not so lucky others, they end up in tragic situations before they even get to think about the fact that they had embraced the wrong form of change.

In life, there will always be persons enforcing change, both good and bad. The results of that change depend on whether you chose to embrace a change for the better, or you chose to embrace a change for the worst disguised as a change for the better. You may be asking "Is it possible for bad to be disguised as good?". The answer to that is YES IT IS POSSIBLE. The devil has a way of presenting our destruction as something good, or irresistible. In doing that, we would be subtly tricked into accepting destruction. It is also possible for good to be disguised as something bad. Again, the devil has a subtle way of doing things. He can cause the good to look just as repulsive as his bad changes should be, which would cause you to unknowingly reject the good and accept the bad.

One needs to know when each is not its own, so we don't end up choosing the wrong thing. I urge all who read this: know which form of change to embrace. Don't just rush into or reject any form of change. Rushing into these things may cause regret later down in life, and statements like "If only I had known." will be flooding your thoughts. Let us all be careful of the change we embrace.

For All the Women of Faith

Why Do You Test Me?- D.A. Dobbs

Why do you test me?
and mock my name
"God is not mocked"
That law remains the same

You've sinned once

And out of justice and grace

I forgave you 

Then you go and do it

again, and again,

and again, and again

Coming to me in repentance

For your habitual sinning

Do you think my grace

Will always abound?

For your deliberateness 

And your practiced sinning?

"Do not put the Lord to the test"

That law also remains constant

Don't think you can abuse my grace

then become spiritually stagnant

And not expect the punishment

to be as constant 

as your feigned repentance

Your spitefulness has angered me

And I'm giving you one last chance

But if you abuse it once more

You may never live to see yourself

Make another feigned repentance

But rather you will live 

regretting that you tested the Lord

If you think I cannot be annoyed 

And that my grace will always abound

Make a U-turn in your thoughts

And another in your actions