lazy

 

I have been lazy.  We all have at one point or another.  Maybe too often than we care to admit.  We waste our time away; time that we will never be able to get back.  I think of laziness as being inactive or inconsistent activity.  Basically, a lack of self-discipline.  Being lazy also involves making a ton of “reasonable” excuses as to why we could not do what we should’ve done. Recently, this has been me.

afraid

Fear is something that manifests in the form of endless pondering on negative scenarios whilst building up anxiety, worry and stress inside of us.  But what is fear? Fear is defined as “an unpleasant, often strong emotion, caused by anticipation or awareness of danger”, it is also defined as “a profound reverence and awe especially toward God“.[1] I have found that the Bible speaks of two types of fear. The fear of people and the fear of God. Now what is the difference?

Arm yourself, warrior!

I wish I could say that winter was coming but the fact is that winter is always here.  The devil, wicked people and attacks from the flesh are always sparing with a Christian.  I accept that fighting is part of the daily lifestyle of a Christian.  We are warriors of Jesus Christ!  However, the war we fight is a spiritual war with spiritual weapons the Holy Spirit tells us of in the Bible.

Ephesians 6:11 – 17 (CEB): “Put on God’s armour so that you can make a stand against the tricks of the devil. We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the Heavens. Therefore, pick up the full armour of God so that you can stand your ground on the evil day and after you have done everything possible to still stand. So stand with the belt of truth around your waist, justice as your breastplate, and put shoes on your feet so that you are ready to spread the good news of peace. Above all, carry the shield of faith so that you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word.”

So in this series I will explore the full armour of God and would love it if you could join me! Let’s arm ourselves!

Music

I absolutely love all kinds of music. I used to listen to it all, and late last year I got into the whole rap scene.  However, I started paying attention to the lyrics of some of the songs.  What I heard made me so uncomfortable.  Plus, I noticed that after I listened to these songs, it would remain in my head (you know how to you listened to a song earlier and then you start singing it unconsciously throughout the day) and make me more prone to use profanity.  Some songs just outright encourage wrongful thoughts.  I started to wonder whether it was wrong to listen to such songs, especially after reading Ephesians 5:4 (CEB): “Obscene language, silly talk, or vulgar jokes aren’t acceptable for believers.  Instead, there should be thanksgiving.”

Tired of being tested

When we experience some hardship, challenge or something does not go according to our plans, one of our first reactions is to think “life is unfair. I don’t deserve this”.  We feel robbed and a profound sense of injustice.  This feeling is amplified when we look around and see persons who seem to have an “easy” life without any hardship.  The next thought generally is then “why me?”.