Open window Christianity

Daniel 6:10 NLT

But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.

The first sentence of this scripture shocks me a little. Daniel heard about the new law but went home to pray with his window open. Isn't that something? I know what I would do after hearing about a law like that. I'd go home to pray but I would definitely keep my windows closed.

Daniel shows the kind of bravery that a lot of us (including me) don't have, Not only was he not ashamed of his Christianity, he was ready to accept the consequences of this choice. Most of us have the freedom to worship whomever or whatever we want in our countries, yet not many of us are willing to stand up boldly and declare that we are Christians. We attend church regular and pray regular within closed doors but when we are required to speak out again immorality we shy away. Heated discussions about major social issues that are changing our landscapes happen around us all the time and we are afraid to take the Christian stance for fear of ostracism. 

Daniel didn't care about being ostracised. As a matter of fact, his punishment was not ostracism, but rather death. At the time he made the decision to pray, there is no indication that God gave him the assurance that he's survive the plan the enemy had for him, but he did it anyway. 

My encouragement to you today is to live out your Christianity with the windows open. Live life outside of church the same way you do in church. Be bold about your faith, let the devil know that even when threatened, you are proud to be a Christian.

Devotions like this one and others can be found in a handy collection in Kindle or paperback format. 

To grab your copy, click here. 

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

A Mind to Work

Nehemiah 4:6 

(KJV) So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work. 

(NLT) At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm. 

When Nehemiah embarked on rebuilding the wall around his beloved Jerusalem, he faced serious opposition. You would think that everybody in the city would be happy that their main means of protection was being rebuilt, but some chose to oppose the work. Similarly, In every day life we are faced with people who seem to oppose every thing we do, no matter how important the job is. In biblical times, these people were called naysayers, in our time, we call them haters. These are people who, no matter what you do or how well you do it, will find something negative to say. These are the people who will refuse to help you and never say a word of encouragement to you. Rather, they will do their best to impede your work for no real good reason.

The people of Jerusalem prevailed and got their wall built because they refused to listen to the naysayers. They were constantly under threat of attacked yet they built a wall whilst constantly having to watch their back. They build with swords in one hand and tools in the other. This is a story that we can take home and learn several lessons from.

The first is that no matter what people around you are saying, if God is asking you to do something, then you should do. Keep at it and trust God to give you the strength to complete it.

Secondly, the enemy may be fighting you from every side, stand your guard, take up your sword and fight but don't stop working. Trust God to be your rear guard and keep doing what you need to do. The devil will put many obstacles in your way to prevent you from doing what you need to do, these are simply distractions to take your mind off the work you are doing which is very important. Remember this tactic and keep working.

Thirdly, when we come together, we can accomplish much. Nehemiah faced lots of opposition, but he had enough of the people working with him to make things happen. Had the people listened to the naysayers, the wall would never have been built because Nehemiah could not do it on his own. Each person in the body has a job to do and if we all don't pull together and do our part, nothing will happen.

As you go through today, let us put our hands to the plough and work. Work towards the goals God has set for you. Ignore the haters and naysayers, don't be afraid of the enemy. Fight if you have to, but don't stop doing what God has asked you to do.

Have a blessed day!

Devotions like this one and others can be found in a handy collection in Kindle or paperback format. 

To grab your copy, click here. 

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Man up!

Man up or Woman up! Whichever your case may be.

Christians have been called a lot of things. They tell us that we're closed-minded, small-minded, timid, coward, weak and more. As a Christian after almost 16 years, I can tell you that Christianity is not for the closed-minded, small-minded, timid, coward or weak.

First of all, believing what we believe takes so much open-mindedness it almost makes no sense. I mean, our  God created earth from nothing, people from dust, sent himself to earth as a baby born of a virgin, died and raised himself, then sent himself as a comforter for all man-kind. Are you kidding me?

See, we have to be the most open-minded and brave people around to believe what we believe. Christianity is not for the weak either; just proclaiming yourself a Christian puts you in an instant war.

So why then when it comes to our life do we become afraid to make the decisions that are necessary to move forward. When we are face with touch choices or situations where we are required to be brave, we shy away and slink into the little boxes the world has created for us.

My challenge to you today is man-up (or woman-up) about taking control of the things that make your life difficult. Attack every situation as if it's life or death. God has your back. Determine that from today, the things that weigh you down have got to go. Kick them out of your life and be serious about it.

Take charge of your day and be blessed!

Devotions like this one and others can be found in a handy collection in Kindle or paperback format. 

To grab your copy, click here. 

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

All things work TOGETHER for our Good

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 NLT

This Bible verse takes a lot of abuse. We misquote it a lot and one variation that I hear often is "all things work out for good". This is what causes a lot of people to doubt its validity. This misquote causes us to expect every situation to work out in our favour. When it doesn't, we blame and doubt God.

What this scripture is really saying is that no matter how many difficult situations you may face, in the end God's plan is that all the tiny pieces of the puzzle will come together and the big picture will be something great.

You see each situation has a purpose in our lives; and it's not to frustrate us, but to mold us for the future. Our reaction to each one is important because it determines whether we are ready for the next stage in our process. God never promised that we'd have stress free lives but He did promise that He would always have our backs (Hebrews 13:5b).

Remember that in the end all these tiny situations that cause us headaches will come together and work out in our favour. It's always at the end of the puzzle that we realize what each piece was for. The same thing goes for life. You will realize how each situation or struggle has come together for your good at the end when you look back and marvel at how God worked it out.

Till then, keep on trusting God. Know that He is busy putting your puzzle together and it WILL work out according to His plan if your trust him and do what He asks.

Devotions like this one and others can be found in a handy collection in Kindle or paperback format. 

To grab your copy, click here. 

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Obsessed With Our Desires

We all have desires for our lives; things that we want, things that we want to do, things that we want to be. Sometimes, these desires overcome us or overwhelm us. It's quite possible to develop tunnel vision where these are concerned. Maybe, as you get older, you realize that it's taking a really long time to achieve your goals, or maybe nothing seems to be working out right. Two things can happen at this point, you can give up on your goals, dreams or desires or becoming so obsessed with them that you see, hear or feel nothing else. None of these outcomes are good ones and none of them are what God requires of us.

I've learned the hard way that God sometimes withholds the things we desire most from us simply because we place so much emphasis on it. Its not that he doesn't want to give you the desires of your heart, but rather, he wants you to want Him more than anything else in this world. When you begin to focus on anything else with such tenacity, it becomes your god. Your real God will not allow that to happen. Its very easy to destroy our relationship with God when earthly desires get in the way. They become our focus and sometimes, the only thing we pray for. They consume us so much that we forget to see the other good things in life. We don't count our blessings anymore, instead we pine and dwell on the things God hasn't given us yet.

I recently learned that sometimes when you let go of the thing you desire most, that's when God steps in to give it to you. Of course, it does not work that way all of the time, God only gives what we can handle. But sometimes He really does what to give us that thing that we desire but we're so obsessed with it, He has to hold it back. When we recognize our obsession and step back and give it up, living our lives according to His will, He steps in and gives us the best.

God is supreme and sovereign and He won't share His worship with anything, including our personal desires. Examine your heart and whatever it is that you desire, ensure that it has not taking His place. Ensure that it's not the only thing that you pray for. If it is, change your prayer to "let your will be done in my life". Totally surrender your will to His with no strings attached and be willing to accept a "no" for the thing you want most. If you can't accept His will in place of your desires, then you haven't really surrendered. Don't get me wrong, its probably one of the hardest things you will ever do, but its the right thing to do. Until then, you'll be struggling for something you'll never get.

Please note that I am not saying that you shouldn't have goals and desires because without these life would be pretty empty, however, never ever let them be your sole purpose for living.

Have a blessed day!

Devotions like this one and others can be found in a handy collection in Kindle or paperback format. 

To grab your copy, click here. 

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo