Unselfish Love

Hello dear reader..

It’s been a while since l wrote.

In the last two months l graduated 🎓 🙏🏾

In the last two months l hit the milestone age of 3️⃣0️⃣ 🎉🥳

Anyway through all this God has been teaching me about unselfish love 💕

I really began to ask myself do l love without a motive?

Are my actions reward motivated?

What is love?..

👆🏾John 13:34 on the commentary section

Growing up l legit thought that love was an emotion.. The 🎥 movies 🍿 l watched confirmed it.

But love is not a feeling, it is more of a decision ..It is unselfish concern.

It has nothing to do with you, it is about doing things that benefit the other 😮 .

To me that was a lot to take it,

l must admit l have been a little selfish at times😬

But l decided that from now onwards l will be more intentional about loving God’s people.

No one has seen God at any time. But if we love one another [with unselfish concern], God abides in us, and His love [the love that is His essence abides in us and] is completed and perfected in us.”

1 John 4:12 AMP

What does it mean to love?

👆🏾1 Corinthians 13:4-8

To love is to be patient,

To love is to be kind,

To love is to protect,

To love is to always be hopeful,

To love is to trust

To love is to never give up 😮

To love is to never lose faith

To love is to endure through every circumstance😮

What love is not

Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice..

So here goes the challenge to love..

Not only love but to unselfishly love..

To be unselfishly concerned about others..

Just as God loved us in such an incredible way ..

Recovering from Mistakes

Have you ever made a mistake?

The definition of a mistake include an act that is wrong. I would love to not make mistakes but sometimes it is inevitable.

The best thing you can do is recover and learn from your mistakes.

The devil uses mistakes to distract us, to condemn us and to discourage us. His aim is to Steal our confidence in God, to kill our relationship with God and to destroy what God is trying to build in you.

  • In most cases when l have made a mistake my reaction would be to
      • Condemn myself and blame myself
      Remove myself from everything (guilt)
      Then my prayer life reduces (my relationship with God suffers).

    Now that l have studied this pattern l know that it is a work of the enemy! To distract me from what God is doing. God doesn’t want that for me. Instead he calls me closer to Him.

    So what then do we do when we realise our actions were wrong? Who better to learn from than David himself. (2 Samuel 12:13), (Ps 51:10)

    Steps to take when you have made a mistake

    1. Confess your sins, tell God what you have done. Don’t try to blame, accept that you were wrong.
    2. Ask for forgiveness , ask God for forgiveness, if you wronged someone ask them for forgiveness.
    3. Receive your forgiveness, this step is important because if you don’t believe in your heart that God has forgiven you, condemnation will take hold of you..
    4. Learn from your mistakes. It’s important to know that you’re not your mistakes. That’s not who you are, Mistakes have no place in defining you. But we can use them as a learning tool.

    Ask yourself why you behaved that way?

    How can you avoid this in the future ?

    5. Keep on Keeping on 😄. Don’t shrink back. Continue doing what God has called you to do. The devil would like you to stop.

    Press on , Feed your soul with the word of God. Spend time with God.

    I pray that this encourages you!

    God loves you 💖

    The enemy in my mind…

    I have often wished someone could pray away the bad thoughts in my mind,

    That someone could just pray away the fear, the anxiety and the confusion that takes my mind by storm..

    I realised that l had an enemy , The Bible calls him the accuser of the brethren..

    He is sneaky, he doesn’t come in ways you can see him, he is a deceiver ..

    l realised l had been fighting a battle in my mind with The spirit of negativity..

    Every spiritually force that fights our lives has a name. To win the battle we have to fight the enemy at his lies.

    Recognising what you are fighting is the first step..

    No matter what good thing happened to me, l always found a way to think negatively, there was always something in the way of my joy..

    Now that l know what l am fighting, the second step is to fight. Some thoughts you can’t pray away you have to

    Declare what you know to be true (the word of your testimony) pull down strongholds by your declarations.

  • Our words are powerful, l never understood this but the best thing you can do for yourself when bad thoughts overtake your mind is to speak the word of God..

    • Silence the accuser in your mind by testifying about what God says about you. We have been given a sound mind..

    2Timothy1:7.

    Lastly arm yourself with the word of God.. Think about what you are allowing yourself to think about?

    For me l recognised that l constantly allowed myself to think negatively about myself..

    Then replace those thoughts with good thoughts..

    At times you may need extra help to dig through the roots of whatever is going on in your mind, talking to someone you can trust someone who can help you ..

    Whatever it is the enemy has been saying to you is a lie..

    Let the voice of God be louder .

    The realities of Heaven

    What is Heaven‘s Reality?

    Heaven’s reality is different from our reality.

    On heavens reality Healing is our portion.

    On heavens reality Peace is our portion.

    On heavens reality we are Forgiven.

    On heavens reality Prosperity is our portion..

    On heavens reality we are loved.

    God says his thoughts are not our thoughts.

    Our ways are not his ways.

    God’s ways and thoughts are far higher and greater than ours.

    So where do we get it wrong?

    1. We focus so much on the realities of this world 🌍.

    2. We have not mastered the art of receiving what Jesus has already given us.

    3. We don’t believe in the realities of heaven.

    What should we do?

    1. I know it’s a process but we have to master the habit of focusing on Jesus..

    Whatever we see here on earth is not our reality as children of God. We can pray that as it is in Heaven let it be in our lives .

    2. Receive God Himself. Receive His reign over your life. Receive His gifts..

    3. Believing in the realities of Heaven. Regardless of what we are going through, let’s choose to see things as God sees.

    Dear Child of God

    You’re blessed and not cursed.

    You’re above and not beneath.

    You are not poor but you’re rich.

    You’re not worthless you’re the apple of God’s eye.

    You’re not ugly you’re a masterpiece.

    Things will work in your favour..

    You’re not a failure you’re a winner.

    That is your reality..

    Look up…

    See Heaven..

    See Jesus..

    God loves you..

    Overcoming Situational Depression..

    In the midst of change my heart became dispirited.. My eyes could not see the future, my eyes were fixed on the pain l felt.. l lost sight of what God had called me to..

    The situations around me got me feeling depressed.. And this was not the first time l allowed situations to dictate how l felt and what l did.. Thanks be to God who helped me to come out of the pit l had put myself in.. Today l want to share with you some of the truths God revealed to me in that season ..

    Five ways to overcome situational depression..

    1. Don’t lose hope.. God has a plan for you .Your later days are greater than your former days, there are better things ahead. This will not last forever, you will get through this.
    2. You’re not alone.. God is with you.
  • Some situations may not be taken away, but even in those situations God is with you. He will help, protect, guide, console and comfort you.

    • 3. Think Positively.. God is working all things together for your good.

    🙌🏾 Romans 8:28. God is greatly concerned about your welfare, nothing takes him by surprise. No matter how it looks there is good that will come out of this. It will work out in your favour.

    4. Don’t worry.. God has given you peace.

    Do not allow your heart to be troubled, your portion is peace. Let the peace that Jesus gave you calm you in every circumstance. Decide to meditate on good things and expect good things.

    5.Speak it into existence. God has given you the power to speak things into existence.Decide to speak good things into your life

    Declare that

    ” Goodness and mercy follows you,

    You can do all things through Christ.

    You have the spirit of joy, peace, liberty, soundness of mind and of spirit in the name of Jesus “.

    I pray that God may grant you the grace to overcome your situations with joy and victory..

    God loves you..

    Short-term appetites

    Have you ever wanted something so bad that you forget how bad that something is for you? I know l have, food is an actual weakness for me, I’m constantly torn between my wanting to eat healthy and not.😕

    The Esau Syndrome

    Esau was the first born, he literally gave up his birth right to his brother Jacob because he was hungry and he wanted some food. Though l have read this story before, today l got an absolutely different meaning to this.

    “Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.”

    ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:16-17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

    We may laugh at Esau but to be honest there are somethings that we readily give up on because we are tired, we are hungry and we want what we want now. There are short term appetites that so consume us we forget about our goals, our callings.

    There are short term disappointments that we make long term, we get so stuck in what happened we lose sight of the great blessings and the gifts that God has given us. Esau gave up on his blessing and the Bible describes him as immoral. God is serious about the blessings he gives us, the abilities, the callings he give us, when we give up on them we are giving up on who God made us.

    I’m glad we still have a chance, Esau didn’t. Join together with me in refusing to give up on our gifts, our dreams, our callings and blessings, Granted it’s not easy but it is so worth it.

    I pray that we may never trade away God’s blessings for short-term appetites.

    What has been your biggest hindrance to fulfilling your dreams?

    Don’t give up

    Love and blessings to you ..

    Zeal drowned by Emotions

    I honestly can’t believe l haven’t written in almost a year 😩. I love writing, there are a lot of things love to do that l haven’t done for months. On pondering what happened l realised that my zeal had been drowned by my emotions.

    Zeal can be defined as passion, whilst emotion as we know is the l think, l feel mainly associated with our mood.

    That my friends is where l got tangled. I allowed how l felt to determine what l did. And my zeal for writing, my passion for doing what l knew was right was stolen by my feelings 😔. Have you ever been there? That my friends is the battle of life.

    And l am here to encourage you never to lose your passion.

    How then can we stop our zeal from being drowned by our emotions?

    1. Remember that your emotions lie, they really do. Therefore question them.
    2. Don’t burn out, Feed your Spirit all the time, and allow God to fill you up, you can’t give what you don’t have.
    3. Walk by faith not by what you see or how you feel.
    4. Be future focused, don’t be caught up in the now.
    5. Walk by the spirit, we are spirit beings, we never walk by how we feel .

    *How do you keep your passion?, please share l would love to know .

    Patience the prerequisite

    Have you ever wondered how to possess the promises of God? Well l have, l must confess to wanting to rush the process.. In between trying to upgrade my studies, working and just life in general, l was beginning to get frustrated with the process to the promise. The when’s and why’s had become my best friends 😂.

    With God there are no shortcuts l realised.. The only way out is through it ..

    Patience as l have now come to understand is the behaviour in waiting not just the ability to wait.. COLOSSIANS‬ ‭3:12‬ ‭AMP‬‬👇🏾

    “So, as God’s own chosen people, who are holy [set apart, sanctified for His purpose] and well-beloved [by God Himself],

    put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience [which has the power to endure whatever injustice or unpleasantness comes, with good temper];” COLOSSIANS‬ ‭3:12‬ ‭AMP‬‬

    In order to receive the promises of God in our lives we constantly need to work on our endurance , our ability to not complain and grumble .. Even just to continue doing the will of God, we need to become better at enduring seasons with a good temper.

    Only then can we receive All that God has promised us.. Hebrews 10:36☝🏽

    Well l pray this will help you in your walk with God. That God may encourage you and strengthen you as you read this..

    Much love 💖

    Shalom

    We need each other…

    Granted, relationships are hard to maintain. People are bound to say and do things that get to us. But never allow yourself to believe that it’s better for you to isolate yourself from people, especially those that God has given you.

    Isolation is an a trick of the enemy

    There are times that l have found myself crying myself to sleep, stressing over things and never asking for help. Feeling alone yet l have such great people around me but l had believed a lie that l am better off alone.

    The devil seeks to isolate you so that he can attack you and no one will be there to help you.

    We have to pray for the ability to discern when the devil is at work in our relationships and in our minds. The devil is a liar he will whisper lies to you, that you are alone, that no one understands and there by putting a distance between you and your family, your friends and even your church brethren.

    “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated,

    but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.

    Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

    Ecclesiastes‬ ‭4:12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

    I have come to realise that the devil is busy, he seeks to isolate the hearts of children from their mothers, sisters from their brothers, husbands from their wives .

    You find yourself suffering in silence yet you are surrounded by family and friends. People getting depressed, suicide rates are heart breaking, mostly because people won’t talk to each other.

    If you’re feeling alone right now l want to encourage you that “God is with you”,

    And if you’re overwhelmed and needing help find someone to help you.

    In which relationships are you sensing a wage of distance? Do you find yourself constantly isolating yourself?

    When you know the truth, you will recognise the lie.

    I pray that this empowers you to fight for your relationships.

    Much love 💖

    Shalom

    Beauty for ashes

    My dearly beloved broken crayons still colour .

    Your History doesn’t determine your destiny .

    The current situation in your life doesn’t dictate your future.

    Your pain serves as fuel for your testimony and your destiny.

    Your mourning, your despair, your shame has qualified you to receive beauty, blessings and a double portion of honour.

    God is in the habit of making the most out of the worst situation. Bringing out the best in us through the challenges we face.

    To all who mourn in Israel,

    1️⃣he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, 2️⃣a joyous blessing instead of mourning, 3️⃣festive praise instead of despair.

    In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.” Isaiah‬ ‭61:3‬ ‭

    Have you experienced shame?

    “Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.” Isaiah‬ ‭61:7‬ ‭

    God is so good 🙏, Every situation in your life that you thought would be the end of you, He uses it to make you a hundred times better .

    There is beauty waiting for you on the other side, Hold on!

    I hope you’re encouraged

    Much love 💕

    Shalom