Consistency

Consistency is hard. That’s because it requires character, not just feelings or a big moment. It’s easy for me to write about praying daily; it’s another thing to live it. I pray that I live it! It is not something that can be done in a human’s strength but only comes from the power of God himself. I pray for more character. I pray for more prayer.

Consistency changes you over time. You would prefer that every problem be solved immediately if possible. However, that’s not how character is built. Paul had a “thorn in his flesh” that caused him considerable trouble, yet God was quite okay with letting it stay. Do you have a thorn in your flesh? Perhaps it isn’t all bad. It could be more of an opportunity to grow in character rather than a punishment. You may well have done nothing to deserve it. Don’t worry; keep praying. God wants to change you from the inside out and wants those changes to remain. He isn’t interested in quick results, but “fruit that will last.”

Stay consistent and run to win. Run and don’t stop. Stopping is losing, running is winning. Even if you tire, don’t stop; keep moving, no matter how slow. If you get tired of praying for hours, that’s okay, just keep praying a little. Whatever you do, don’t stop altogether. Your Father can still help you if you stop, but that isn’t a close relationship anymore. Do everything you can to stay in a healthy relationship with him.

No More Addiction

I haven’t written for some time. After changing my degree at uni, my job, moving house and having a girlfriend I haven’t found a lot of time… Now that my life has settled down again I want to write more often. Having said this, I’m coming back strong – I want to give an update on my post from the 7th March which talked about my past addiction to porn.

If you haven’t read the post, take a look at it here. In the post, I share my feelings on porn and how difficult it is to quit. Reading it now reminded me of how bleak it seemed at the time. However, I haven’t watched porn from the 1st of April! (Take that, devil!) Anyway… There were a few things that helped me go from minimising the addiction to completely quitting:

Accountability – I was accountable to a friend who was also struggling. I started to be accountable to another man who had already dealt with porn and overcome it.
Keeping busy having fun – Always having something to do helped me to entirely forget about porn. I stopped thinking about it, so I stopped watching it.
Blocking my main means of accessing porn – I would almost always watch porn on my phone. I asked a friend to put a password on my phone to block all porn material. If I wanted to watch it, I would have to go to my computer, which was unlikely.

Of course, there are many more things that helped me, but I’m not writing War and Peace… This is simply to encourage you if you’re struggling. Try these three things – they helped me and might help you too.

I want to share a Bible verse to encourage you. 1 Corinthians 10:13 ‘No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.‘

God IS faithful and He WILL provide the way of escape.

Generosity: Consistent Giving

Growing up in a low-income family taught me to be careful with money. I had a lot of respect for money because it was so difficult to get. When I was ten years old, I was earning $2 for each hour of work. It was a struggle to save money because I could only do chores around the house to make money, and the rate was meagre. However, I managed to save several hundred dollars, which I used to buy large Lego sets!

As I grew older, I continued to focus on myself. I carefully saved money again, but by the time I turned nineteen, I lost all my savings. It was when I had no money and rent to pay that I hit rock bottom. I had been relying on my strength to provide up until this point. I was nineteen with nothing to my name and in a bad financial state. I had to change my mindset.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 says ‘As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.’

I was ‘setting my hope on the uncertainty of riches’, which didn’t pay off. It is in generosity that treasure is stored up in heaven and a future secured. Thankfully, the story gets better. I learned to start being generous in small ways. With time I got better and faithful to His word, God provided a fantastic job and working arrangement, which paid more than double what I was earning beforehand! A life of generosity is the best life to live.

Passion For God

Acts 21:1-4, 7-8 tells the story of Paul travelling through various places and encouraging Christians as he went. Just focusing on the travel, it says ‘After saying farewell to the Ephesian elders, we sailed straight to the island of Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and then went to Patara. There we boarded a ship sailing for Phoenicia. We …landed at the harbour of Tyre, in Syria, where the ship was to unload its cargo. We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week…‘ (Skip verses 5 and 6) ‘The next stop after leaving Tyre was Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed for one day. The next day we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food.‘

This story illustrates the passion Paul had for God and the Church. He travelled the world teaching and encouraging believers wherever he went.

The passion Paul had for God and the Church inspires me. However, when it comes to my life, I can so effortlessly get busy with unimportant tasks. I never intend to put God below other things, but it is so easy to find fun and exciting things to fill my day.

Does your life reflect the passion Paul had? Travelling the world is obviously not required to pursue God passionately. Loving God looks different for everyone, but is there an opportunity to bring your passion to a higher level? Do you find yourself ‘too busy’ to spend a meaningful time alone with God each day?

Does This Verse Change Generosity?!

I was reading the bible in Proverbs when I came across an unusual verse. The verse made me rethink how I view giving and generosity. I was convicted and challenged when I understood another aspect of how giving works. The Bible text said (Proverbs 19:17) ‘Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.‘ Wow! I didn’t know God took generosity so seriously! The fact that he takes personal ownership of our kindness to the poor, turning it into a loan He will repay shows His heart for the poor.

What makes this verse even more interesting is how He chooses to be in our debt. As far as I am aware, this is the only time God is in our debt! God is very generous to us already, extending His grace every day. We are almost always on the receiving end when it comes to our relationship. After all, He is the one who saved us, and He is the one who gave His love without expectation of return. However, here He is giving us the opportunity to give back beyond His expectations. The act of giving to the poor reverses the roles of giving and receiving. God becomes the receiver, but true to His generous character, he will not accept the gift without promising another gift in return!

Worship

Worshipping God is powerful. When I open my heart and worship, every little thing fades into nothing. My perspective changes as I focus all my attention and energy. I can feel every part of me worshipping. As I sing, my words become a prayer. I experience a powerful sensation shoot through my body, often leading to tears falling down my face. This real and raw submission to God gives me more peace than I can describe, more love than I can understand, and the strength to face any situation.

I love worshipping! I have to set a timer on my phone or risk spending hours alone, inevitably making me late for something. The act of worship puts me into a timeless state. I lose all other senses.

John 4:23-24 says ‘But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.‘

As this verse shows, when we worship, we are connecting directly to God. God is seeking worshippers, but unfortunately, in this age, there are so many distractions that take our attention; Worshipping God changes that attention to God and aligns us with Him. If you aren’t feeling connected with God or haven’t experienced this, set aside 2 hours with no distractions, play worship music and listen to the words, making them your prayer. You will not feel the same after! (Ideally, 20+ minutes of daily worship will become a part of every morning.)

God Does it Better

The past few days I have been pushed to my limit. Waking up each morning to a work emergency that required my immediate attention is not what I would consider a good start to my day. These days didn’t allow me to spend the usual time alone with God each morning. This lack of connection has affected me. I have been leaning on my strength, and unlike earlier, the stress of living without God has built up.

Today I read from Job 40. The whole chapter God speaks to Job and his friends, reminding them of their power compared to His. These verses convicted me because I have been leaning on my strength rather than His.

If you were to look at yourself, do you find stress, worry or anxiety? Set aside an hour to reconnect with God. It will reset your heart and mind, removing those stresses and replacing them with love, joy and peace.

Isaiah 40:28 says ‘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.‘ It is no wonder life is so much easier when I trust in Him! I want God to lead me and guide me!

Patience

When I was in my teenage years, I didn’t know the love God has for me. I felt alone and unloved, no realising that what I see isn’t the only reality. Just because I couldn’t see Him working in my life didn’t mean He wasn’t. The truth is, no matter my perspective, God is right by me. He speaks to my heart and gently nudges me in the right direction each day, desiring for me to respond.
After I had an encounter with God and His love (around age 16), my life took a significant turn for the better. I lost all suicidal thoughts, let go of a lot of hate toward others, and felt love and emotions again. Now that I see, I can look back and see how God hadn’t forgotten about me but was patiently waiting. It brings me to tears just thinking about how patient He is!
2 Peter 3:9 says ‘The Lord is not slow to fulfil his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.‘
If you feel lonely, remember that God is waiting patiently for you. He wants your heart, and will pursue you until He gets it! When others push your patience, remember God has more.

Rest in God’s Presence

As I was kneeling by my bed listening to worship music, I felt refreshed. I felt the power of God gently flowing into my body, slowly filling me with peace and love. I love this feeling!

You can find peace and rest in God’s presence. If life is too busy, too stressful, or too intense, stop for 30 minutes and focus on God. He will fill you and give you strength to keep going.

Exodus 33:14 says ‘And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”’ In this verse, God is speaking to Moses. God reminds him he is not alone. With God’s presence, rest is found.

What are you filled with?

At around the age of 18, I went to one night of a youth camp. A guest speaker was preaching about being filled with God. Afterwards, I knelt for prayer and just started crying out to God, asking Him to fill me. As I was kneeling people began praying for me. The feeling of God filling me intensified. After a little time, I started to feel normal again and thought that must be it. I thought God filled me, but He had more. The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said ‘Caleb if you want more, press in harder.’ I started praying again, and tears continued to flow even more freely. After repeating this process four or five times, I was a wreak. I looked terrible! (I know because I went to the bathroom after and looked in the mirror. I was shocked at how bad I looked!) I had given everything I had to God. At that time, I felt so close to God I could feel every little uncaring comment and each rude remark. I felt all my senses on high alert, each one pouring love. I have never felt closer to God all my life. There has never been a time before or after that has been even close.

How hungry are you? Are you willing to put everything out there? Are you ready to surrender everything to God and trust Him to fill you, or are you too busy? Do you want a life-changing experience, or are you comfortable with your current relationship with God?

Revelation 3:20 says ‘Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.‘ In this verse, Jesus is talking. He desperately wants a relationship with you! Regardless of your current position with God, if you open your heart, even more, God will respond.