YOU SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE.

Hello everyone, I hope you had a great day or are having a good one. Mine was great praise God.
So today's topic is based on a sermon of Pastor Cornelius Lindsey about "giving" that i watched  back in April(you can find it on my facebook page) it was so much eye opening for me. Sometimes we, as Christians, are cought up in laws, rituals and traditions that have nothing to do with the word of God invented by some so-called men of God.

It reminded me of when I first got here in north-America as I already said I wasn't really saved, I didn't know much about the word of God, I read my bible every now and then, I didn't know how important it is to know God for myself, to know his word for myself. I thought if I just listen to what the pastor says on Sundays I'm good, I don't need to go deep into the word. Whenever I had questions instead of opening my bible and pray about it the first thing I  was doing was to ask the people who were in church  for longer than me because I thought :"If they are here that long  they are certainly better "christian" than me" Which actually is far from the truth.

So one day, I asked  somebody about "giving" I was new in the church and I wanted to know how things worked in that church  because the currency was different and I was a bit confused. So I asked how tithing and offering worked there . And I was told that I should give the tenth of all my income(tithe) plus my offering and that I should not give less than a certain amount of money. So whenever I did not have that bill or more in my purse I didn't give because I thought  it would be a shame to give less than what i was told as if everybody would see it and laugh at me or as if God would be insulted by my offering. See how bound I was by some foolishness that I thought  was the truth? What scripture says the amount of money that has to be given? Where did that come from? I don't blame the person who told me that because maybe that person didn't know better.
But I blame myself for believing such a lie for so long and for spreading that lie because who ever asked me got the same answer from me. Hosea 4:6 says: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge". This is the sad truth. We rely on what  people say to guide our lives instead of relying on God and his word. It's like we have more faith in people than God.

Speaking of having more faith in men than God, let's ask ourselves these questions. When we have some issues in our lives, what is the first thing we do? Do we pray about it first to have God's instructions or do we tell our pastor/spiritual leader? When we have to make important decisions in our lives do we tell God or the pastor first? My intention is not to discourage people to trust their pastors/spiritual leaders , but although their advices and blessings  are important, we have to be careful not to make  them our idols. Because if we run to them before running to God, then something is definitely wrong. It may be time to review our priorities.
God is God and will always be God, He is the same, he doesn't change, but men can change depending on the circumstances. So we better choose God.
  
By the way, there is also another thing that has been on my mind for quite sometime. As christian when we are talking to other people outside our local church or new members I hear people say:"Well, at our church we dress this way, we are not allowed to do this and that,,.." And it's like a competition for which church is better than the other(I fell in that trap too, i know). I have also seen some churches who tell people that their are not welcome in the building if they dress a certain way or look a certain way. That particularly chocked me. Since when does salvation require to look a certain way? Are people supposed to be perfect to be admitted in a church? who told these men they own the church? What happened to the church of Christ, The one He shed blood for? Did Jesus die on the cross for perfect people or for sinners? 
Well, i'm just going to leave it here. This would  Probably make  a whole other blog. So people don't be fooled, be careful.

In conlusion,  every time we hear a sermon, a prophesy, or somebody tells you that  God told him/her something about you or if you want to get an advice, the first thing to do is pray about it, then check whether what they say agrees with the word of God or not because that person you listen to may be misleading you. Thessalonian 5:21-22 says:  21but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22. Stay away from every kind of evil. So make sure you test everything you hear no matter who says it.

Have a nice day, God is good always.

FREEDOM TO BE (PART 2)

Hey everyone, hope y'all are doing well! I have a question for you today. Have you ever been in a situation where you see people doing things they normally don't do or have you yourself been in such situation where you buy things you can't afford, behave strangely in public, hang out with people you don't like or shouldn't be hanging out with, do things because others do it? Well, I must admit I did. Sometimes you look at people or at yourself and you're like:"what is wrong with you/me?".

 So the other day I was thinking about it and I found out that it's a natural thing to want to be like everybody else. We want to feel like we belong to a certain group/community that we are not alone in this journey called life. It's a desire for recognition. It's called a "sense of belonging ". Scientists  say that it's the greatest human emotional need. Belonging is an important part of our lives. Even some research show that it is good for our health because it makes you feel loved, appreciated,...

So as I grow in my walk of faith I discovered that most of us got it wrong. We do everything possible to fit in a certain group/community. We change our way of speaking, dressing, walking, sometimes even our values are affected. Some of those things aren't bad, but the bad thing is, it can affect our destiny/future in a negative way. Because we're trying to force our way into things that are not for us. And we find ourselves miserable, unhappy, unsatisfied. That's where some people fall in depression, self-hatred,...Because deep inside we know we're not in the right place.

 I did some stupid things myself to be cool because I thought it was the only way to remain a member of a certain group of friends. Allow me to share a little personal story. When I was a teenager, I went out with a friend of mine and her boyfriend and since they didn't want me third wheeling(I assume,lol), the boyfriend brought one of his male friends with him, So the guy was sitting next to me and he began to touch my arm while talking to me. I felt very uncomfortable, but I didn't say a thing because I didn't want them to think I was not cool and tell their friends that I was a weird girl who was afraid of boys (insecure I was for sure). I wanted to keep my cool-girl status(lol)  .Thank God we were in a public place and it ended with the arm touching. When I think about it, I'm like:"What was I thinking?"I didn't even like the guy, lol. God knows what would've happened if we were in a more private space.

 You know, the devil knows about the sense of belonging, he knows that it is important for us so he convinces us that we should change who we are to be accepted, that we can't be loved/appreciated for who we are, that we should have a drink, smoke, buy expensive stuff,be cool..etc. Because our target group/community is doing so. That's a lie. But the good news is, God always has our back in every situation. He knows what we need, and that sense of belonging is for Him, we belong to Him, that's why when we are away from Him we feel something is missing, there is a gap that must be filled by Him only. Jeremiah17:5 and 7 says : 5.Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord.

7.But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.

Galatians 3:26 and 29 also says: 26. So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.

29.If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

This is awesome, it shows that only by faith our need is fulfilled. We just have to believe in Jesus Christ and we will no longer feel the need to be somebody else, do weird things to fit in or join some group/community that is not for us. In fact, we can completely be ourselves because God is the one who created us with all our imperfections because he has a plan for us, a destiny. All we have to do is trust Him. His love is enough. 

And when we accept to trust Him , to enter his family, then He leads us to the right group/community, right relationships, right jobs, etc. So let's just trust him He knows best.

Have a great day. Jesus is The Way.